Hunyuan Immortal Sect

Chapter 534 Cannibalistic Madman
Outside the mountain gate, Cheng Zongyuan was waiting. His handsome features, warm smile, and refined demeanor made him very likable.

After Song Xian descended in his escape light, he quickly went to greet him: "Fellow Daoist Cheng, your presence is an honor. I am so sorry for not welcoming you sooner."

"I told you long ago that Fellow Daoist Song's Core Formation was just a matter of time. Congratulations."

After exchanging a few pleasantries, the two entered the mountain gate together and arrived at the main hall of the mansion.

"I was just about to send someone to inform you, but I didn't expect you to come here. I recently received a report from a disciple of my sect that Wei Fan has appeared in the East China Sea District and has become a fearsome Golden Core evil cultivator. It is said that he likes to eat human hearts and livers. He was wanted by the Longquan Sect for killing a disciple." After the two took their seats, Song Xian got straight to the point.

"It seems I received the news a little earlier than Fellow Daoist Song. Because I asked my senior brother from the Intelligence Peak of our sect for help, I knew about it before the Longquan Sect issued the arrest warrant. I came here for this very reason."

"What does Fellow Daoist Cheng plan to do?"

Cheng Zongyuan straightened his expression: "If this person is not eliminated, he will be a threat to both of us. Wei Fan's cultivation level was not high and his talent was mediocre, but after being possessed, not only did his cultivation level improve greatly, breaking through to the Golden Core stage so quickly, but he also possessed powerful supernatural abilities and techniques. Given time, if his cultivation level improves further, he may make a move against us."

"After all, only the two of us know his background, and only the two of us have entered that secret space. Regardless of whether Fellow Daoist Song obtained any treasures from it, he will definitely hold us accountable."

"This person has become utterly depraved. He has taken the lives of dozens of cultivators in the East China Sea region, not even sparing innocent ones. Fellow Daoist Song, do you think he would let us go?"

Song Xian remained silent. This was exactly what he was worried about. Although he didn't know what had happened to Wei Fan, judging from his rampage in the East China Sea, this man would come for revenge sooner or later, since both of them had taken the treasures that originally belonged to him.

The reason they haven't come knocking on our door yet is either because they have more important things to do, or because they're not absolutely certain yet.

“I saw the portrait of Wei Fan from the Longquan Sect and almost didn’t recognize him at first glance. How did he become like that? Fellow Daoist Cheng, do you know the reason? Was there any difference between him and now when you last saw him?”

Cheng Zongyuan shook his head: "When I saw him that time, he acted normally. You could say he was very good at disguising himself. He was nothing like he is now."

"I'm also curious about what he went through to get to this point. If I'm not mistaken, it must be because he practiced some evil art. Otherwise, why would he go on a killing spree in the East China Sea like a madman, eating people's hearts and livers?"

"But this is enough to show that his evil skills are extraordinary. Otherwise, with Wei Fan's spiritual root aptitude and lack of stable cultivation resources, how could he have broken through to the Golden Core Realm so quickly?"

Song Xian continued to press, "After Fellow Daoist Cheng visited our sect last time, has he encountered Wei Fan again? Has your sect's intelligence peak failed to discover Wei Fan's whereabouts in all these years?"

"No, it's strange, but after that incident, Wei Fan seemed to have vanished from the face of the earth. Now he has suddenly reappeared in the East China Sea region and is wreaking havoc. I think there must be something going on here. What I don't understand is, where did he form his core? According to the information I have, the Longquan Sect has searched almost all the third-grade and above spiritual veins in the Muhe Grassland region, but they have not found any clues about this person."

Song Xian pondered for a moment: "Back when this person had not yet formed his core, he had already escaped from you once. Now that he has formed his core, his strength must have increased by leaps and bounds. It is said that Elder Gu La of the Longquan Sect fought a great battle with him, and even with his sixth-level Golden Core cultivation, he could not defeat Wei Fan. With just the two of us, I'm afraid it will be difficult to kill this person."

"Elder Gu La of the Longquan Sect is also hunting him down. We can join forces with him, and with the combined strength of the three of us, it won't be difficult to deal with him."

Even so, we don't know where Wei Fan is now. If we can't find him, what can we do about him?

Cheng Yuyuan narrowed his eyes slightly: "I've thought of a place that might be where Wei Fan is hiding. It's that secret spatial realm we explored together before."

"Isn't that secret realm only openable when the seven stars align?"

Cheng Zongyuan said solemnly, "That's from our perspective. Don't forget, Wei Fan was possessed by the mysterious person in that secret realm ruins, and it's very likely that he has mastered the method of freely entering and leaving."

"Fellow Daoist Song, do you still remember the swarms of insect-like monsters we encountered in the secret realm? Since those monsters could survive, reproduce, and grow within the secret realm, it's possible that there are spiritual veins inside, but we didn't discover them at the time. Perhaps Wei Fan usually hides in the spiritual veins of that secret realm to cultivate and break through to the Golden Core realm."

“A few years ago, I went to investigate the entrance to that secret realm and found that the key to open the secret realm’s spatial passage was gone. At that time, I was being chased and had no chance to take it. Fellow Daoist Song didn’t take it either, so it must have been taken by Wei Fan.”

"I have come here to invite Fellow Daoist Song to explore the entrance to that secret realm together, find a way to open it, and enter the inner chamber to eliminate this future threat."

Song Xian remained outwardly calm, but his mind was racing with thoughts.

More than the changes in Wei Fan and the threat he posed, he was actually more curious about something else.

Why is Cheng Zongyuan so concerned about Wei Fan? This is the second time he has personally visited the mountain gate to invite him to deal with Wei Fan together. Not only that, he also plans to join forces with Elder Gu La of the Longquan Sect.

It can be said that in order to deal with Wei Fan, he spared no effort and was trying to win over anyone he could unite with.

This is just what's been done openly; who knows how many things have been done behind the scenes.

If it were merely out of concern that Wei Fan would cause him trouble in the future, he wouldn't have gone to such lengths.

Song Xian was also worried that Wei Fan would retaliate in the future and take away the green gourd, but since Wei Fan had not caused him any trouble before, he was still a little conflicted and did not know whether he should take the initiative.

Cheng Zongyuan, however, was determined to eliminate this person, even to the point of being willing to do anything, which was very unusual.

He felt there must be more to the story.

Seeing that he was still hesitating, Cheng Zongyuan pressed on and added, "Given Wei Fan's current cultivation progress, this may be our only chance to take the initiative. In time, as his cultivation advances further, the roles of hunter and prey will be reversed, and we will be the ones being hunted."

"At most, I can hide behind the mountain gate and stay inside, but with Fellow Daoist Song's vast wealth and power, where can he possibly hide?"

"If they come knocking on your door, even if they don't attack you, just plundering your sect's resources and killing your disciples in Bianxi City will still make your sect a mess."

"As the saying goes, you can only be a thief for a thousand days, not a thief for a thousand days. We must take the initiative into our own hands."

Seeing that Wei Fan was even resorting to provocation to win him over, Song Xian became even more certain that Wei Fan had other reasons for wanting to deal with him.

In the past, he might have agreed to join forces, since Wei Fan was indeed a hidden danger and threat to him.

But after Apu's betrayal, he no longer trusts anyone. Even if there are benefits, he has to consider them very carefully, let alone something that is obviously shrouded in secrecy.

“What Fellow Daoist Cheng said makes sense. However, my sect has been busy with affairs lately, and I really can’t spare the time to go to the Boundless Sea. How about this? Anyway, Fellow Daoist Cheng can’t be sure that Wei Fan escaped back to that spatial secret realm. Let’s split up. You go to the island spatial entrance in the Boundless Sea to check the situation, and I will send people to the East Sea District to look for clues about Wei Fan.”

Having said that, Cheng Zongyuan knew that he had made up his mind, and a hint of disappointment appeared in his eyes.

"In that case, very well! I'll go to the East China Sea first and try to recruit Fellow Daoist Bone La to our side. To be honest, I'll never feel at ease until Wei Fan is eliminated."

"Fellow Daoist Cheng, rest assured, as soon as I receive news of Wei Fan, I will definitely send someone to inform you. I am actually just like you, worried that Wei Fan will cause me trouble in the future, and I want to completely eliminate this potential threat, but I am currently unable to get away from this matter."

After chatting for a few more minutes, Cheng Yuyuan took his leave.

…………

After sending him away, Song Xian thought the matter would be over for the time being, but to his surprise, just over ten days later he received a report from Huang Ye that he had discovered Wei Fan's whereabouts.

It actually appeared in the Tianshan territory and killed many cultivators, but it was not specifically targeting the Hunyuan Sect. Among them were sect disciples, as well as rogue cultivators and cultivators from other forces.

According to eyewitnesses, it was like a madman, not only killing people indiscriminately but also eating human flesh; it was practically an out-of-control beast.

Upon hearing this news, Song Xian could no longer remain silent.

He didn't want to get involved, but the person was already right under his nose. Regardless of whether the other party was targeting him, he couldn't pretend he knew nothing.

After careful consideration, he finally decided to meet this person.

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P.S.: (I apologize for the update issue; I know everyone is dissatisfied.)
(I also want to get back to my previous routine of updating 4,000 words a day, but for some reason, I feel very tired as soon as I sit in front of the computer and can't concentrate. Sometimes I sit there for one or two hours and still can't type more than a few dozen words.)
(I will adjust myself and hope to get back into shape as soon as possible.)
(End of this chapter)