Chapter Fourteen: Fury-Ashes of Plunder(The Half-Immortal Dream)

The deeper they ventured into the jungle, the thicker the miasma became. In the end, even with their cultivation, the three of them were forced to consume elixirs just to ward it off. The low-level beasts no longer appeared, but in their place emerged ever more formidable demon beasts, each having absorbed a measure of spiritual energy from the world, thus gaining a spark of intelligence.

Though these creatures posed no immediate threat to the trio, the ever-present threat of marshes and quagmires suddenly appearing at their feet left them drenched in cold sweat. Every step they took in this dense forest was made with utmost caution.

Suddenly, a flicker of yellow light appeared a hundred paces ahead. From within the jade pendant, Lan Yifeng’s voice reached Su Fan’s mind: “Su Fan, there’s a treasure a hundred paces ahead of you. While it’s nothing to me, for you, it would make a fine weapon.”

On hearing this, Su Fan immediately extended his spiritual sense towards the distance. Ling Yuan and Hu Peng, too, seemed to have noticed the treasure. Greed flashed in their eyes. Hu Peng laughed, “We all see the treasure ahead, but this place is fraught with danger. I say, let the capable claim it. Fellow Daoists, what do you think?”

As he spoke, Hu Peng cast a cold glance at Su Fan. Not wishing to make an enemy of Hu Peng, Su Fan was about to yield when Lan Yifeng’s voice spoke again in his mind: “If you obtain this treasure, your chances of surviving the Tomb of the Underworld King will rise greatly—perhaps you’ll even reap further rewards. I sense strange things here; the tomb will surely be even more perilous. You could end up trapped here for life. Are you willing to accept that?”

Su Fan’s heart grew heavy. He sighed inwardly: “But how can I compete with them? Hu Peng’s cultivation far surpasses mine.”

Lan Yifeng sneered, “That’s none of your concern. Just relax your mind. I’ll expend my vital energy to temporarily control your body and use instant movement to seize the treasure.”

Su Fan immediately relaxed, and suddenly felt his blood boiling, as if set ablaze. Lan Yifeng’s voice explained that he was circulating spiritual energy.

Ling Yuan glanced unwillingly at Hu Peng and said in a low voice, “I’ll forgo the treasure.” He looked at Su Fan, who remained impassive. Seeing Su Fan silent, Ling Yuan sighed and said no more.

Suddenly, Su Fan formed a hand seal, and his entire body sped towards the treasure. Hu Peng reacted at once, shouting, “Su Fan, how dare you!” He hurried after the treasure, but now he could not possibly catch up to Su Fan.

Ling Yuan, witnessing the scene, sighed, “Su Fan is still inexperienced and acts rashly. The cultivation world is so cruel. Hu Peng had already claimed the treasure as his. To contest him is to make an enemy.”

Su Fan was now just a step from the treasure, hand outstretched. Suddenly, a sword aura shot from behind, but with a casual wave, Su Fan dispersed it. He then turned and used the Five Elements Metal Art to collect the treasure.

After a brief inspection, Su Fan placed it in his storage pouch and turned to face the source of the sword aura. Five paces away, Hu Peng stood, sword in hand, its blade glowing faint blue, eyes fixed on Su Fan with venomous intent.

At this point, Lan Yifeng ceased controlling Su Fan’s body and sent a message: “If I hadn’t acted quickly, you’d already be dead. Now, you can kill him if you wish.”

Su Fan said nothing, merely staring at Hu Peng. After a moment, he spoke coldly, “Daoist Hu Peng, what is the meaning of this?”

Hu Peng sneered. “Daoist Su, I bear you no ill will. Give me the treasure, and in the Tomb of the Underworld King, I will ensure your safety.”

Su Fan paused, then said, “Daoist Hu Peng, you yourself said the capable should claim the treasure. Now that it is in my possession, don’t you owe me an explanation?” Hearing this, Ling Yuan hurriedly spoke from not far away, “Daoist Su, you...”

“An explanation? Very well, let me show you what it means for the capable to claim it.” Hu Peng cut him off. As soon as he spoke, the blue glow from his sword intensified. With a flick of his wrist, he slashed at Su Fan.

Su Fan retreated in haste, but the gulf between their cultivation could not be bridged, and Su Fan’s lack of combat experience only compounded his disadvantage. In moments, he was wounded by Hu Peng’s sword aura.

Quickly, Su Fan pulled out an elixir to heal. Lan Yifeng’s voice sounded in his mind: “Su Fan, take out the superior-grade mortal artifact from your pouch and refine it. There’s no spiritual imprint on it—you need only leave yours, and a little refining will make it usable.”

Hearing this, Su Fan slapped his storage pouch, and a yellow light shot out. Instantly, a fan appeared in his hand, one side bearing the image of a towering mountain, the other inscribed with the words “Mountain Soul Fan.”

Just then, Hu Peng reached Su Fan. Seeing the fan, he exclaimed, “A superior-grade mortal artifact!” His greed deepened, and he formed a hand seal, shouting, “Sword Dance of the Seven Stars!”

His sword split into seven. With a gesture, all seven flew at Su Fan.

Su Fan was still refining the Mountain Soul Fan, his first time refining a treasure, so his pace was slow. The seven swords were about to strike him when he waved the fan, and all seven swords snapped in two.

Hu Peng’s eyes filled with pain and rage. “Su Fan, you destroyed my artifacts! Today, I will kill you to vent my anger!”

He sped up his incantation, and a fist-sized blue ice sphere formed before him, expanding rapidly with his spell. In moments, a massive ice sphere hung before Hu Peng.

“Die!” cried Hu Peng, sending the ice sphere hurtling towards Su Fan.

A sense of mortal peril surged within Su Fan. He summoned his spiritual power and wielded the Mountain Soul Fan, but it had no effect on the ice sphere.

Hu Peng laughed viciously, “Su Fan, you fought me for a treasure and destroyed my artifacts—now die!”

Just as the ice sphere was about to strike, a red light flashed. The ice sphere exploded, and Su Fan vanished.

Hu Peng landed where Su Fan had stood, searching in vain for any trace of him. In the distance, Ling Yuan muttered, “He used instant movement of the Nascent Soul stage, but he’s only at the ninth level of Qi Refinement.”

Unable to find Su Fan, Hu Peng turned to Ling Yuan. “Daoist Ling, now it’s just the two of us—let’s press on to the Tomb of the Underworld King.”

Ling Yuan dared not defy him. “As you say, Daoist Hu.” With that, he set off for the tomb, Hu Peng following silently.

Meanwhile, in a marshy quagmire, a young man was waving a fan. Yet his body was steadily sinking. It was Su Fan; at the last moment, Lan Yifeng had used up his energy to teleport Su Fan away, but it landed him in the swamp.

Su Fan’s eyes flashed coldly as he reflected, “The world of cultivation truly is perilous. If I’d been the slightest bit careless, Hu Peng would have killed me. Hmph! When I grow strong, I will take my revenge—Ergou, Hong Yuan, Hu Peng—if I survive, I will kill you all.”

“But after that forced teleportation, Lan Yifeng must sleep to recover. Now I have only myself to rely on.” Su Fan struggled to mobilize his spiritual power but could not break free. Gradually, his strength faded, even the jade pendant’s energy could not keep up, and his physical strength drained away. Soon, he lost consciousness, his body sinking until he disappeared from view, the surface of the mire returning to calm.

“Fan’er, when you go to the academy, obey your teacher.”

“Fan’er, don’t be afraid.”

“Fan’er, you’re home at last.”

“Mother, mother...” In a dark stone chamber, a young man lay on the ground, murmuring, “Mother...” It was Su Fan.

Slowly, Su Fan awoke, murmuring, “It seems I didn’t die. But where am I?” Rising, he followed the passageway deeper inside. All was pitch black, but with his spiritual sense, he pressed on. There was nothing here, just the corridor. He did not know how long he walked; gradually, the passage seemed to widen, but still there was nothing.

Su Fan took out some elixirs, sat cross-legged, and began to heal. With a wave of his hand, a red light enveloped his body—this was a defensive spell Lan Yifeng had taught him before falling into slumber. After a full day, the red glow faded and Su Fan whispered, “At last, I’m alright. And I’ve gained much—a superior-grade treasure. If I had fully refined it, I wouldn’t have feared Hu Peng at all.”

Thinking thus, Su Fan took out the Mountain Soul Fan and sent his spiritual sense into it, causing it to float before him. He bit his fingertip, letting a drop of blood fall onto the fan, which began to circle him. With a gesture, it flew into his hand.

“Now, the treasure is truly mine. Probing it, I sense a technique within: Mountain Soul Collapse. This place seems safe enough; I’ll practice it.”

Su Fan began to wield the fan, no longer waving it randomly as before, but following a specific form. He intoned, and debris rose around him, quickly gathering into a hill as tall as two men. “Destroy!” he called, and the hill crashed down, making the corridor tremble violently before slowly quieting.

“What a powerful technique. If I meet Hu Peng again, with this fan and its Mountain Soul Collapse, he can’t threaten me. I may not be able to kill him yet, but the gap isn’t far.”