Chapter 816: Encountering Fellow Sect Members
The white light enveloped his vision, turning everything in front of Zhu Bufan instantly blank. When the light dissipated, he found himself not far from a mountain stream. The murmuring water nearby was full of life, and the occasional birds flying across the sky, along with the brilliant sunlight, all told Zhu Bufan that he was no longer inside the Demon Tower.
Taking a deep breath, Zhu Bufan felt all 36,000 pores in his body open with relief, full of vitality. This kind of Spiritual Energy was so nostalgic and not like the extreme Spiritual Energy filled everywhere inside the Demon Tower.
"Right! Where are the others?" After savoring the free air, Zhu Bufan remembered that he had not seen Huo Ling and Master Wang Hui. Shocked, he quickly surveyed his surroundings, but he did not find any trace of them.
'Whoosh!'
A silvery white light suddenly pounced toward Zhu Bufan from a distance and then wrapped around his neck. It turned out that the silver light was a little fox that had come out with Zhu Bufan.
"Zhu Bufan, Zhu Bufan! Is this outside the Demon Tower? It's really different from inside the tower!!" Once it curled up on Zhu Bufan, the little fox excitedly spoke, its azure eyes sparkling with excitement and curiosity. There was no need to mention anything else, just the sun alone was enough to excite the little fox for half the day. Although there was a distinction between day and night in the tower, it was still very different from the sunrise and sunset in the real Demon Continent!
"Yes! This is the outside, and this life-filled breeze is the best proof... By the way, Bai Ling, did you see Huo Ling or Master Wang Hui?"
"No... When I came out, I was lying across the creek in that little forest. Then I woke up and felt your Qi and came to find you!" The little fox shook its head and then stretched out its paw, pointing towards the other side of the creek.
"That's not a river; it's called a creek... this is troublesome... Could we have been scattered? Where exactly are we?" After hearing the little fox, Zhu Bufan patted the little fox's head and immediately frowned. Losing Huo Ling and Master Wang Hui was somewhat unexpected for Zhu Bufan. What's more, he currently had no idea where he was.
Several figures swiftly flew from the distance. As they saw Zhu Bufan, they stopped in their advance. When the figures settled, Zhu Bufan could clearly see that each of them was dressed in moon-white long robes with pink cuffs, a style all too familiar to him—the attire of disciples from the outer sect of Yao Guang Peak of Heavenly Sword Sect. And the most distinctive feature of Yao Guang Peak was that all its disciples were female.
"Who are you people? Don't you know this is within the territory of Heavenly Sword Sect? Outsiders, leave!" The five figures quickly surrounded Zhu Bufan, and indeed, just as he surmised, these five were all young girls, although they had their hair styled in a bun like male cultivators, which made them look like men from a distance. Judging from their appearance, these five women seemed to be younger than Zhu Bufan.
"Wait! You're disciples from Yao Guang Peak, right? I am a disciple of the Heavenly Sword Sect too." Seeing that all five Yao Guang Peak female disciples had unsheathed their swords and were pointing them at him while extending their left hands in a stance, clearly the starting position of Wufang Sword Skill of the Heavenly Sword Sect, Zhu Bufan quickly raised his hands to explain.
"Nonsense! You are dressed in tattered clothes, and the sword on your back is not one that a disciple of our sect would carry. How dare you impersonate a disciple of Heavenly Sword Sect!" A Yao Guang Peak disciple angrily shouted after hearing Zhu Bufan's words, "Sisters, take action! Capture this man who dares to impersonate a member of the Heavenly Sword Sect!"
"Done for! I forgot that my clothes are already in tatters." Zhu Bufan smiled wryly, as the other party's words reminded him that his clothes had been torn to shreds during the fight between the Demon King and Bai Ling. However, Zhu Bufan had not paid attention to it until now, but it had become a symbol of a suspicious person.
Seeing Zhu Bufan still giving off a 'disdainful' smile, a Yao Guang Peak disciple became even more furious, her hand shook, and her willow leaf sword gleamed with a layer of blue light.
"Wufang Sword Skill? Wufang Flying Illusion!"
Five sharp cries rang out simultaneously. The five women, apparently very well-coordinated sisters, struck as soon as they finished speaking. Five pale blue illusionary Sword Qis flew towards Zhu Bufan from five different directions.
"I can't believe it, I was attacked by fellow disciples just after returning." Faced with the combined attack of these five people, Zhu Bufan could only muster a bitter smile once more. His experience in the Demon Tower had greatly matured him. Maybe before entering the Demon Tower, facing these five streams of Sword Qi coming from five female disciples of Yao Guang Peak around the Body Tempering Sixth Layer Heaven would have been quite troublesome. But now, to put it bluntly, Zhu Bufan does not even consider such attacks worth mentioning due to the vast gap in their levels.
"Let's all just calm down, ladies." With a downward press of both hands, the Blood Spirit Poison Fire surged out and formed a circle of fire, instantly suppressing the five streams of Sword Qi aimed at Zhu Bufan. Then, under the corrosion of the Blood Spirit Poison Fire, the five streams of Sword Qi were immediately melted away.
"Indeed, an evil and crooked method! Using such sinister Cultivation Techniques, do you still dare to claim yourself a disciple of the Heavenly Sword Sect? Sisters, kill!" Feeling the frightening murderous aura within Zhu Bufan's Blood Spirit Poison Fire, the female disciple from Yao Guang Peak turned pale, and the other four were also filled with dread. After quickly gathering together using their movement techniques, they once again executed the Wufang Sword Skill towards Zhu Bufan.
"Wufang Sword Skill? Flying Star Chasing Moon!!"
Suddenly, their willow leaf longswords were coated with a layer of star-like brilliant light. Then, all five women moved their swords forward with their left index and middle fingers, and instantly, five extremely swift streams of Sword Qi shot towards Zhu Bufan. These streams of Sword Qi merged in mid-air, transforming into a meteor-like light heading straight for Zhu Bufan.
Although the power of their Combined Attack was much stronger than their individual attacks from earlier, in Zhu Bufan's eyes, it still fell far too short. Extending his right hand, Blood Spirit Poison Fire instantly enveloped Zhu Bufan's right palm. Then, Zhu Bufan caught the Flying Star Chasing Moon Combined Attack from the five with his bare hands.
"Burn!"
As soon as the meteor-like Sword Qi orb was caught by Zhu Bufan, it started to get eroded and burned by the Blood Spirit Poison Fire. In no time, the entire orb of Primordial Qi was incinerated. Seeing their prided technique easily crushed by Zhu Bufan, the faces of the five female disciples from Yao Guang Peak turned pale with horror, and the longswords in their hands involuntarily fell to the ground.
"You... what's going on with you... who... who exactly are you?" With eyes wide in disbelief, the female disciple from Yao Guang Peak spoke in a tone filled with incredulity, while the other four women looked at Zhu Bufan similarly shocked and bewildered.
"So you're a brother from the Dark Sect... I'm sorry... I thought you were a suspicious character, so..." Upon seeing the Dark Sect garb on Zhu Bufan, the female disciple from Yao Guang Peak immediately showed an embarrassed face and apologized to Zhu Bufan.
"It's alright... It's actually my fault for being unkempt, wait for me here, let me change my clothes first." With a wry smile, Zhu Bufan used his movement technique and disappeared in front of the five women's eyes, leaving them stunned and mystified. In a short while, Zhu Bufan came back again, not only with new clothes on but also with his face washed clean, no longer looking dirty as before.
After Zhu Bufan changed into new clothes, his entire demeanor changed dramatically. Seeing Zhu Bufan's new outfit, the five women from Yao Guang Peak no longer harbored any doubts. The one who had been talking with Zhu Bufan stepped forward and introduced herself: "Greetings, I am Lan Ruoxing, a disciple under Master Shuiyue. We are all disciples of Yao Guang Peak, belonging to the outer sect of the Heavenly Sword Sect."
Now, Zhu Bufan took notice of Lan Ruoxing. He saw that this Lan Ruoxing in front of him was at the peak of the Body Tempering Seventh Layer Heaven, much higher than the other four. She has a beautiful oval face, with eyes as sharp as a phoenix under her delicate brows, a straight nose, and rosy lips. No doubt, the Lan Ruoxing before him was a rare beauty, and furthermore, this beauty exuded a certain heroic spirit.
"Heh, my name is Zhu Bufan, I am a disciple of the Dark Sect of the Heavenly Sword Sect," Zhu Bufan said with a slight smile, nodding his head in greeting to Lan Ruoxing.
"Um... Brother Zhu Bufan, my name is Liu Hongye, a fellow disciple under Master Lan... What exactly is your Cultivation Realm? How could you so easily break our Combined Attack?" Right after Zhu Bufan and Lan Ruoxing finished their introductions, another female disciple from Yao Guang Peak came over shyly and asked Zhu Bufan.
"Hongye, it's very impolite to ask that!" Hearing Liu Hongye's question, Lan Ruoxing turned her head and softly chided her, although Lan Ruoxing was also very curious about just what level Zhu Bufan's cultivation had reached. Lan Ruoxing felt that Zhu Bufan's cultivation was at most around the Body Tempering Sixth Layer Heaven, but the strength Zhu Bufan displayed was far beyond what a cultivator of the Body Tempering Sixth Layer Heaven could match. Of course, Lan Ruoxing was curious.
"Right, the Golden Silk Robe given by the Demon King can conceal one's cultivation." Hearing the conversation between Lan Ruoxing and Liu Hongye, Zhu Bufan suddenly remembered the purpose of the Golden Silk Robe. After thinking for a while, Zhu Bufan still decided not to reveal his own cultivation and said: "Actually, my cultivation is quite similar to yours, it's just that the mental method I practice is somewhat unique, heh heh... By the way, why are you all here?"
"We are following the orders of our Master, going to exterminate Demon Beasts, Moon Main Peak, among the outer Seven Peaks, other than ours at Yao Guang Peak, disciples from Tianquan Peak, Kaiyang Peak also participated in the extermination mission!" Hearing Zhu Bufan's question, Lan Ruoxing immediately replied with seriousness.