Chapter 60 – “But I like it~”

Lu Chengye held the Burning Sky Bow in one hand and the bell in the other, hurriedly chasing after the group of people as they moved onward.

He was running out of time.

Cao Zirui and his group were obviously heading toward the exit, where there must be a lot of people gathered. Once they arrived, there would be so many people around that he would have no chance to do anything.

This was Lu Chengye’s last chance to intercept and kill them before they reached the exit.

He didn’t know what Cao Zirui and the others were doing, but their speed suddenly slowed down. And with Lu Chengye rushing faster and faster, the distance between them dwindled.

Suddenly, he heard a rustling sound amongst the trees.

Lu Chengye paused, regarding the dense bushes in front of him with some caution.

The bushes shook a little, as if there was something behind them.

It’s probably some kind of monster, Lu Chengye thought. He didn’t want to waste his energy, so he changed direction and prepared to take a detour.

However, just as he took a step, the rustling sound came closer.

Lu Chengye dithered there for a moment before finally stomping his foot. He turned his head impatiently and glared at the bushes that were shaking more and more violently.

He had no choice. The noise was obviously coming toward him. A monster must have discovered him, and he couldn’t escape it.

He raised his right hand, holding the bow forward slightly. This action revealed his arm, which had been covered beneath his sleeve. His previously white skin was now covered in strange patterns inked with cinnabar.

The undried cinnabar flowed along his arm like blood or tears, eerie and terrifying.

As he raised his hand, his left hand also nocked an arrow on the Burning Sky Bow. After losing the golden arrow, he should have been unable to draw the magic bow even a little bit. But oddly, his left hand on the bowstring pulled it backward slightly.

The divine bow had no string and no place for an arrow, but he went through the motion of drawing the bow and nocking the arrow.

But the bow was not fully drawn – only halfway.

Lu Chengye held his breath and stared at the shaking bushes, waiting for the monster to rear its head so that he could kill it in one blow. He had much to do, and no time to waste here.

He was prepared to strike, but when he saw what was revealed between the bushes, he didn’t take action immediately.

That was a pair of hands. A pair of human hands.

The owner of those hands pushed aside the obstructing foliage and emerged from the jungle.

When he raised his head and saw Lu Chengye with a look of astonishment on his face, he couldn’t help but smile.

Although this smile contained no mockery or sarcasm, Lu Chengye over-interpreted that look and assumed that Feng Ye was provoking him.

The rage gushing from within him snapped him back to his senses, and he asked harshly: “It’s you?”

Feng Ye shrugged and asked: “Who else?”

Lu Chengye narrowed his eyes. Although his blood pressure had soared when he saw Feng Ye, aside from his anger, he felt that something wasn’t right. It seemed like Feng Ye had sought him out purposely. Could this be a trap?

He regarded Feng Ye with caution. The other party was unarmed, without even a sword for self-defense, and didn’t seem like someone who was looking for trouble.

The area was very quiet, with only the sound of birds flapping their wings. It didn’t seem like an ambush. Could he be here to die?

Although this guess was unlikely, he couldn’t think of any other reason for Feng Ye to leave the main group and seek him out alone.

Unable to make sense of it, he just asked directly: “Did you come here to die?”

“Hehe.” Feng Ye chuckled upon hearing this, his expression one of helpless amusement. He crossed his arms and leaned casually against the more than ten-meter-high tree beside him.

The majority of his weight was on one foot, while the other leisurely tapped the ground with his toes. It was a very relaxed posture, full of openings. If his opponent wanted to attack, he could do so from any angle, and Feng Ye would be unable to dodge.

Of course, he dared to stand before Lu Chengye like this not out of trust, but out of simple contempt.

At this thought, the fire in Lu Chengye’s heart instantly shot up dozens of meters.

On what basis! How dare a loser like Feng Ye at the third level of Qi Refining look down on him again and again!

His eyes blew open wide in fury, his appearance so savage that he seemed liable to pounce on him and tear flesh from bone in the next moment.

But Feng Ye seemed unaware of Lu Chengye’s vicious expression, maintaining his relaxed attitude. Instead of answering directly, he asked: “First, you poisoned your fellow disciples, causing their cultivation to drop significantly. Then you ruthlessly hunted down Fang Yang and Cao Zirui, leaving them no way out. Am I accusing you unjustly?”

Wasn’t this obvious? He had already admitted it in front of Fang Yang, and wasn’t afraid to admit it again now. A hint of ridicule appeared on his lips: “You’re not. You’re just missing one thing.”

“Not only do I intend to kill them both, I also intend to kill someone else. And that person is…..” The smile on Lu Chengye’s lips widened further. He pointed at Feng Ye in front of him, gritting his teeth as he shouted the last word: “You!”

Feng Ye couldn’t help but laugh, shaking his head: “I fear that will be somewhat difficult.”

“Hmph!” Lu Chengye gave a heavy scoff. He didn’t take Feng Ye’s words to heart at all. So what if he lost to this person last time?

Setting aside the element of luck during the competition, the situation was different now. What he held in his hands was a heaven-grade magic weapon!

Generally speaking, it was impossible for him, at the seventh level of Qi Refining, to draw the Burning Sky Bow without the aid of another magical instrument. But…..if he used a forbidden technique, that might not be the case.

Since it was a forbidden technique, he would have to pay a huge price, but it would also afford him spiritual power beyond his usual level. This was the last trump card Xue Ren had given him.

Since all of his previous killing moves had failed, it was time to use his last resort.

However, the cost of this forbidden technique was extraordinarily high, requiring the loss of half his cultivation. He had shown no mercy when he destroyed Fang Yang’s cultivation, but was hesitant when it came to his own, and was only willing to use it as a last resort.

He was cruel only to others, and never to himself.

Even now, he couldn’t bear to do it – but he had been forced into a corner. If he didn’t eliminate these people, he was doomed. Compared to death, losing half his cultivation was clearly the better option.

Holding the wooden bow in front of him, he raised his chin and introduced it to him as if lecturing a country bumpkin: “You don’t understand what you’re dealing with. Do you know what this bow is?”

“What is it?” Feng Ye observed the bow engraved with a dark red totem for a moment. He really didn’t know where it had originated. Its power far exceeded that of an ordinary magic weapon, and the flames were vaguely familiar, so he responded cooperatively.

“Alright, I’ll let you die with the knowledge!” Donning an arrogant, condescending look, Lu Chengye repeated exactly what Xue Ren had told him that day: “A hundred years ago, Yinglong cut down the Jianmu tree in the Eastern Sea. The giant tree collapsed and fire rained from the sky to the ground, spreading for three thousand li and burning for three days.”

“Before the heavenly fire was extinguished, someone used it as a catalyst and combined it with thousand-year-old locust wood. Several extremely cold yin substances, such as the Snowy Mountain Ice Soul, suppressed the incinerating heavenly fire and sealed it within a bow, forging this indestructible heavenly weapon.”

Before Lu Chengye could speak the name of the heavenly weapon, Feng Ye suddenly cut in: “Someone used the heavenly fire as a catalyst? Who was it?”

When he heard Lu Chengye’s description of the heavenly bow, his prior nonchalant appearance turned a bit more serious. He speculated with a frown: “Wood for the body of the bow and fire for the weapon’s soul. Even thousand-year locust wood wouldn’t be able to overcome the advantage fire has over wood. Why was locust wood chosen for the body? What kind of cold, yin substance is able to overcome heavenly fire?”

He remained lost in doubt, muttering to himself as he disregarded Lu Chengye to the side.

His contempt and disregard completely destroyed Lu Chengye’s already precarious sanity. He went on to shout the name he had been interrupted in the middle of earlier: “This is the heaven-grade magic weapon — Burning Sky Bow!”

“Feng Ye, go to hell!” He roared out these five words. His face reddened and his neck bulged, not from the strength and volume of his shout, but because he had drawn the bow completely while speaking to Feng Ye.

The crescent resembled a full moon! 

He spared no effort in his fury, determined to leave Feng Ye without a complete body!

As he drew the bow to its full potential, a crimson arrow suddenly appeared on the empty bowstring. The blazing flames, compressed hundreds of times over, condensed inside the small arrow and burst out.

There was a brief vacuum in the surrounding spiritual energy. Because Lu Chengye didn’t possess enough spiritual power for the Burning Sky Bow to absorb, this magic weapon spontaneously sourced the remainder from the air.

As his words fell, a crimson arrow several times more powerful than the golden arrow exploded out.

At such a short distance, it arrived in front of Feng Ye in the blink of an eye.

Feng Ye didn’t even look directly at Lu Chengye. Deep in doubt and confusion, he had his head lowered toward the ground, and he only looked up when he heard Lu Chengye’s shout.

Firelight illuminated his pupils, and the gust of wind caused by the whistling arrow flung up his bangs and the hem of his clothes.

He didn’t dodge. There was no time.

But even so, he felt no fear.

After releasing the arrow, the smile of victory at having avenged his great hatred had not fully appeared when Lu Chengye’s face distorted in fear at the incredible scene in front of him.

Faced with the crimson arrow aimed straight at his head, Feng Ye took no action. He simply reached up slightly and grasped the arrow in his fragile mortal palm.

The violent flames should have instantly reduced his hand and arm to ashes, but the reality was…..

The untamable flames became obedient in his hand, the fire dancing in his palm without burning it at all.

His hand holding the arrow exerted a small bit of force, and the crimson arrow formed by sucking all of the spiritual power from Lu Chengye turned into pieces of residual flames in his hand, scattering to then extinguish in the air.

“This…..this is impossible! Impossible!” Lu Chengye was horrified. Unable to speak clearly, he stammered while looking at Feng Ye like he was a monster.

And this monster was walking toward him! Lu Chengye couldn’t help but back away a few steps.

When Feng Ye stepped forward, he stepped back.

The ultimate attack he had launched with all his strength had been crushed by Feng Ye with such ease! This could no longer be explained by luck.

Feng Ye was clearly just a junior disciple at the third level of Qi Refining. How could he possibly do this!

No…..Lu Chengye’s panic-stricken mind suddenly became clear, and he asked repeatedly: “Who are you? Who are you?!”

He stared at this familiar yet unfamiliar disciple. The familiarity lay in his ordinary face, while the unfamiliarity lay with the person beneath that skin.

At last, he realized that Feng Ye was definitely not the original owner of this body. This guy was simply an imposter with ulterior motives!

In his ignorance, he had accidentally offended such a great god. Lu Chengye felt both fear and regret, but it was too late for regret now. The usual geniality on Feng Ye’s face was nowhere to be seen at this moment.

In a trance, Lu Chengye felt as if he was back in the ring on that day, with Feng Ye holding a sword to his throat. He’d looked exactly like this.

Colder than cold iron.

All emotion had faded from his eyes. There was no pity or sympathy, nothing at all. Looking into his eyes was like looking directly at a sword poised to take his head, with a killing intent just as strong.

“Who am I?” Feng Ye repeated mildly. Then, in the same calm tone, he said: “I’m the one who’s going to kill you.”

He wants to kill me! These five words reverberated in Lu Chengye’s mind. His steps trembled slightly in terror, and before he knew it, he was collapsing to the ground.

He didn’t even have the opportunity to stand back up. He simply sat on the ground, propped himself up with his hands, and proceeded to scoot away with a complete lack of dignity.

He knew that Feng Ye wasn’t all talk. This person…..this person was really going to kill him!

He rolled over and crawled, and Feng Ye continued to walk forward as usual, approaching him step by step.

When he saw Feng Ye step in front of him, Lu Chengye knew there was no escape. 

He simply prostrated himself in front of Feng Ye, tears streaming down his face as he said: “I just got momentarily carried away, please let me go…..let me go this time, and I’ll never mess with you again!”

Speaking so pitifully with a face full of undignified tears, he didn’t seem to be faking it at all.

He naturally wasn’t pretending, but these tears had nothing to do with repentance. This is simply the fear of dying, thought the crow watching from a branch.

He observed Lu Chengye with jet-black eyes, and then Feng Ye, who was standing there motionlessly.

He’d made a bet with himself on whether Feng Ye would let Lu Chengye go.

Hao Chen was leaning toward letting him go, because from all of the actions he’d taken since he’d met him, Feng Ye was actually a very soft-hearted person. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have gone so far as to allow Hao Chen to sleep on his shoulder all night.

However, the completely different expression on Feng Ye’s face at this moment made him hesitate. Because it was cold – so cold that even his thick feathers were unable to block it out. The crow couldn’t help but hug his wings to himself tightly, curling into a ball as he craned his neck to watch the show.

“Who gave you orders?” Feng Ye looked down at Lu Chengye, his face still cold and expressionless.

This question lifted Lu Chengye’s heart. Instead of acting against him directly, Feng Ye had asked him a question. This sounded like he was easing off, but after the relief came bitterness. He couldn’t speak on this issue at all. 

So he could only cautiously lift his head and stammer: “I….I can’t say…..”

“Xue Ren?” Feng Ye asked again.

Lu Chengye still couldn’t say anything, nor could he shake his head or nod. The vow didn’t allow for any loopholes.

But the excitement in his eyes still revealed the answer.

“I understand.” Feng Ye lifted his head and looked away, leaving Lu Chengye behind to walk a few steps forward.

It looked as if Feng Ye was going to let him go.

Both Lu Chengye and the crow on the branch thought so.

But after walking three meters, Feng Ye suddenly stopped.

He turned around and said to Lu Chengye: “Poisoning and trying to kill fellow disciples is a third-degree crime.”

What third-degree crime? Lu Chengye looked up from the ground in astonishment and saw Feng Ye raise five fingers. 

Those thin lips parted slightly: “Die.”

Wind blew through the jungle, branches swaying up and down with a rustling sound. The crow who was curled up into a fat little ball swayed with the branches.

The last thing Lu Chengye saw was Feng Ye’s cold expression, which hadn’t changed from beginning to end. Then the world spun around him. His line of sight suddenly flew very high, and then very low. After rolling across the ground a few times, he could no longer feel anything.

Soon after his head rolled, the kneeling body collapsed as well. A column of blood several meters high spurted out from the severed neck, and the pungent smell of blood carried on the wind.

The crow couldn’t help but raise his wings, pretending to cover his eyes. He commented solemnly from his perch: “So ruthless.”

Through the gaps in his feathers, dark eyes peered down at the corpse lying below, then at Feng Ye, who stood there without a trace of blood on his body. His tone abruptly turned joyful: “But I like it~”

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Chapter 59 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 61