Chapter 818: Deciding the Superior
"External sects are ultimately just that, their elders' quality is so low." With a cold laugh, Zhu Zizhen showed no mercy as he spoke, causing Zhang Weiwei's face to turn extremely ugly in an instant.
"Now that everyone is here, let's set off. Considering the huge consumption of Primordial Qi when using movement technique, Moon Peak has prepared Flying Talismans for everyone as transportation. However, Flying Talismans are extremely precious and only fifteen are available, which are already allocated, so..." At this point, Zhu Zizhen turned to look at Zhu Bufan.
"It doesn't matter. I have plenty of Flying Talismans myself, you can use yours." After saying this, Zhu Bufan flipped his hand and three Flying Talismans appeared. Seeing Zhu Bufan casually taking out three Jade Talismans, and in such a careless manner, Zhu Zizhen's face reddened instantly. Only moments ago he had mentioned how precious the Flying Talismans were, and yet before his words could even reach the nearby forest, Zhu Bufan nonchalantly tossed out three 'very precious' Jade Talismans, which was akin to slapping him in the face.
Of course, Zhu Zizhen's ability to surpass the equally talented Lin Qingfeng and Han Ziyue of Moon Peak wasn't just based on his cultivation alone. Quickly, Zhu Zizhen's expression returned to normal, he nodded towards Zhu Bufan and then said, "That's for the best then. We may rely on Junior Brother Zhu Bufan's Jade Talismans later on, so I hope Junior Brother won't be stingy at that time."
"Of course not." Zhu Bufan shrugged and replied.
"Now that everyone has a Flying Talisman, let's set off immediately. The lair of the ancient beings has been identified in the southern part of the Spiritual Energy Realm. With the Flying Talismans, it won't take long to get there. Everyone, please follow me." After finishing his sentence, Zhu Zizhen crushed the Jade Talisman in his hand, and the others also crushed their talismans, quickly catching up to Zhu Zizhen, who was already surrounded by a halo of blue Qi in mid-air.
"Senior Brother Zhu Bufan." As everyone was flying south, Lan Ruoxing approached Zhu Bufan, looked around, and then said, "Senior Brother Zhu Bufan, you are truly incredible, to have fought Ye Gucheng to a standstill!"
"A standstill?" Hearing Lan Ruoxing's words, Zhu Bufan smiled faintly. Ye Gucheng's sword was the fastest he had seen among many; in an instant, it was already at Zhu Bufan's chest, leaving no time for him to react. Moreover, it was just a simple sword draw, nothing fancy or involving complex martial arts. Truth be told, solely in terms of swordsmanship, Zhu Bufan admitted he was inferior to Ye Gucheng.
"Of course! No one has ever managed to block Brother Ye Gucheng's Fast Sword and then repel him! Even in Moon Peak, there are only a few junior disciples who dare to claim they can catch his Fast Sword. If Brother Ye Gucheng had any interest in Moon Peak, he would have been its disciple long ago."
"It's good he didn't go. Moon Peak is nothing special, and there's no need to think you're better just because you go there." Nodding, Zhu Bufan then told Lan Ruoxing.
"Yeah, I feel the same too. Apart from Brother Ye being a bit cold and somewhat sharp-tongued, he's a good person in other aspects, unlike the hypocritical disciples of Moon Peak." Saying this, Lan Ruoxing's eyes flashed with disdain, and Zhu Bufan also realized that the relationship between the external Seven Peaks and Moon Peak wasn't very good, which was evident from the interactions among their disciples.
"Those from Moon Peak can indeed be too much sometimes, especially that Zhu Zizhen, treating all of us from the external sect as fools!" At that moment, Zhang Weiwei joined them and whispered, to which Lan Ruoxing rolled her eyes and said, "I think that's a problem you brought on yourselves, and please don't drag us into it!"
"Why should it be like this... we from the external sect should stand together in times of trouble..." With a mournful face, Zhang Weiwei gazed resentfully at Lan Ruoxing after hearing her words, while Zhu Bufan found the conversation between the two amusingly exasperating.
With the effect of the Flying Talismans, their progress was quite swift, and after a little over an hour, Zhu Zizhen led everyone to land within a dense forest.
Within the Spiritual Energy Realm, there were many forests and mountains, rich in Spiritual Energy, making them sanctuaries for many Demon Beasts and Spiritual Beasts. Naturally, if some Demon Beasts attacked villages and harmed humans, then the Heavenly Sword Sect had the right to eradicate them.
"According to investigations, the lair of those ancient beings should be somewhere around here, we... Ye Gucheng, where are you going?" Just about to explain, Zhu Zizhen suddenly saw Ye Gucheng, who had landed, walking alone towards the forest, and immediately called out.
"As I said, I'm different from you; I prefer to act alone, so whatever you do is none of my business. I'll do things my way." Coldly turning his head to look at Zhu Zizhen, Ye Gucheng then ignored everyone and entered the forest.
"I see, then I shall depart here as well, as I too prefer to operate alone." Seeing Ye Gucheng leaving, Zhu Bufan also smiled and was about to walk into the forest, when a figure flew up to Zhu Bufan's side. Zhu Zizhen squinted his eyes and said, "Junior Brother Zhu Bufan, don't take me too lightly either."
"Oh? Brother Zhu, do you think you must control everyone to save face?" With a cold smile, Zhu Bufan ignored the dangerous tone of Zhu Zizhen and pressed on, suddenly, a gust of wind blew from behind him.
'Snap'
A loud sound echoed, and everyone saw a flash of white light from Zhu Bufan's shoulder, causing Zhu Zizhen to immediately cover his hand and stagger backward in surprise, a hint of shock appearing in his eyes.
"Two-tailed Demon Fox?" After steadying himself, Zhu Zizhen finally saw clearly that what had slapped away his hand were two extremely beautiful silver-white fox tails, and the 'shoulder scarf' on Zhu Bufan's shoulder had opened its eyes, a pair of deep blue eyes glaring intensely at Zhu Zizhen, as if saying 'don't disturb my sleep!'.
Seeing that the creature on Zhu Bufan's shoulder was actually a Two-tailed Demon Fox, Zhu Zizhen's eyes immediately lit up with uncontrollable greed, but he quickly suppressed it. The same look appeared in the eyes of Lin Qingfeng and Han Ziyue, knowing that such a Spiritual Beast was extremely rare, not to mention one willing to be close to humans.
"Is everything alright? Then, I'll be leaving." Ignoring the fleeting greedy look in Zhu Zizhen's eyes, Zhu Bufan gave a faint smile and turned to enter the forest. Zhu Bufan's indifferent attitude made the usually arrogant Zhu Zizhen's face turn ashen, as both Ye Gucheng and Zhu Bufan's actions made him feel deeply insulted.
"Zizhen, business is more important, let's get that done first." At that moment, Han Ziyue came over and spoke softly to Zhu Zizhen, calming him with her gentle voice. What they didn't notice was the deep jealousy flashing in Lin Qingfeng's eyes when he looked at Zhu Zizhen.
"What? Not sleeping anymore?" Stroking the soft silver fur of the little fox as he entered the woods, Zhu Bufan asked with a laugh.
"Ugh! You think I want to sleep? I rarely get to come outside, I wish I could stay awake every day…" Pouting, the little fox said, "But I just can't stand the hypocrisy of those humans, so I pretended to sleep instead, unwilling to watch. I didn't expect so many people here to be as cunning as that old demon."
"How would you know? You're meeting many of these people for the first time, right?" Pinching the soft ears of the little fox, Zhu Bufan asked.
"Our Fox Clan is extremely sensitive to the soul. Even if they pretend to smile, they can't hide their malicious intentions from us. The man whose hand I slapped away earlier harbors strong Killing Intent towards you and showed even stronger greed towards me. The same goes for those two by his side, all the same."
"So, you can actually see through people's hearts?" Zhu Bufan was truly surprised upon hearing the little fox's words, as he hadn't imagined that the little fox could actually see through people's hearts.
"It's not really seeing through the heart. I don't know what they're thinking, I only know if there's malice in their thoughts or not, just like the icy guy who tried to strike you earlier. Although he attacked, there was no malice overflowing from deep in his soul, which means he didn't harbor ill will when he attacked you..."
"That means..."
"It can be understood that he treated you as an object, like chopping wood..." After rolling her little eyes, the little fox revealed a crescent smile.
"This little devil... only Emperor Yan could handle her..." Zhu Bufan sighed bitterly, his expression suddenly turning serious. Turning his head forward, he saw Ye Gucheng leaning against a tree with his eyes closed, seemingly waiting for Zhu Bufan to arrive.
"Although I'd like to say 'What a coincidence, you're also taking this path', it seems there are no such coincidences in this world. So, what brings you here this time?" Zhu Bufan asked Ye Gucheng with a cold gaze.
"I, want to have a final showdown with you." Slowly opening his eyes, Ye Gucheng said to Zhu Bufan.