Last time with Kongming, it wasn’t so bad; the fragrance wasn’t too intense, and missing out on Zhang Rongfang was acceptable.

But this time…

The scent is much stronger! …And there are two of them this time…

Really…

He was really feeling a bit irritated inside.

But on the surface, he still had to show gratitude, clasping his fists and bowing.

“Senior Brother! I didn’t expect… it would be you again!?”

“No problem, Senior Brother just knew there might be issues here, so I rushed over in time.” Ding Rui said earnestly.

Although the response was a bit strange.

But he just assumed that the other was too emotional and a bit off.

During critical moments, it’s normal for emotions to fluctuate.

He could understand.

Turning back, Ding Rui looked at Chen Yunru and the other person. His gaze then moved to the wish wheel on the ground.

“I’ve long heard of the Dongling Sword Sect’s leader, Chen Yunru, a rising star in the martial world in recent years, with a Spirit Court bounty of tens of thousands, ranked twenty-ninth on the black list. Today, let’s see what gives you such confidence.”

His speech was calm and moderate, gentle and composed, and his actions were swift and decisive without any hesitation.

But for some reason, he gave off a feeling of annoyance and irritability.

Not only Zhang Rongfang felt this way, but even the two across from Chen Yunru did as well.

“Pretentious, with an attitude as if you’re very powerful, who do you think you are!?”

Chen Yunru stopped wasting words, charged forward with her sword, immediately pointing out three points of cold light, stabbing towards Ding Rui.

Ding Rui neither hurried nor slowed, constantly blocking and responding with his metallic arm, and in a flash, the two were entangled in a fight.

“Junior Brother, leave first, I’ll hold them here!” Ding Rui said in a deep voice.

“Okay!”

Zhang Rongfang said no more, quickly leaving from the side without hesitation.

Another woman from the Dongling Sword Sect also stepped forward to strike, but saw a muffled groan from Chen Yunru as she quickly fell into a disadvantage.

Immediately, the two teamed up, retreating a few steps together.

“This one’s tough! Don’t hold back!!” Chen Yunru lowly shouted.

The two of them roared, their skin turning red rapidly, and their arm, back, and shoulder muscles bulged, forming grape-like clusters.

“Invoke Holy Blood!!”

Chen Yunru raised her hand, instantly releasing a cloud of green dust, fluttering and covering a range of several meters ahead.

Invoking Holy Blood is a special Extreme State unique to the Dongling Sword Sect, utilizing poisonous powder to stimulate one’s potential.

Both women’s black outfits tore open as their bodies swelled, growing another size taller.

Their previously ordinary arms and legs quickly doubled in size.

“Kill!!!”

With two muffled thuds, three figures collided and struck abruptly.

But unfortunately….

Even if they unleashed all their strength, at most they reached Three Emptiness Level, which is already formidable as an affiliated force of the Western Sect.

Second only to the likes of the Sea Dragon Golden Wing Pavilion.

But against Ding Rui….

After dozens of moves.

Crack.

A crisp sound.

Two broken swords flew upward, spinning and embedding slantingly into a stout tree trunk.

On the ground, Ding Rui slowly picked up the wish wheel, with two lifeless bodies lying behind him.

*

*

*

Several days later.

On the edge of a group of lakes that looked like countless eyes.

A gray mountain path meandered forward, extending deep into the plains beyond vision.

This path was rarely traveled, and far away, deer could be seen strolling along it.

Zhang Rongfang walked quickly forward, having encountered this twice now, he had a vague suspicion in his mind.

But regardless of the truth, he couldn’t help feeling somewhat frustrated.

Nowadays, individuals with the distinct scent of flesh are few and far between, and now twice in a row he’s been snatched away, which would leave anyone feeling helpless.

This was already Lichun Lake, meaning that if he continued forward and crossed through here, he would enter the territory of Ze Province.

According to Ding Chong, as long as he entered Ze Province, everything would be safe.

So….

Whoosh.

Suddenly, Zhang Rongfang paused in his tracks.

A black dart whistled sharply, embedding itself in the ground right in front of his toes.

The dart was cross-shaped, with a circular hole in the center, its edges extremely sharp, flashing a faint blue glow, indicating it was poisoned.

“Who!?” Zhang Rongfang raised his head, looking in the direction the dart came from.

Most directions here were flat plains, stretching endlessly.

Only to the left was a small cluster of woods.

The dart had been launched from within the woods.

“Interesting, the word was that people were escorting and covering you all along this route. I thought it was false. The masters of the Great Dao Teaching are all being watched, there’s only a handful of them. Where would there be any extra masters to guard you?”

Several men and women with distinct appearances and dress styles slowly emerged from the woods.

The speaker was a scholar.

In the Great Spirit, scholars were somewhat of an awkward group, because there were no civil service exams, leaving them without a place to demonstrate their capabilities.

Having given up martial arts for scholarship, they had little resistance when facing daily life conflicts and martial artists, often earning little respect.

Only those scholars who had ties with noble families held some status.

But the person before Zhang Rongfang now.

Though dressed as a scholar, his physique clearly surpassed the normal scope of a scholar.

This person had a burly figure, arms as long as an ape’s, a face full of rugged flesh, dark skin, and a blood-red character for “king” etched on his forehead.

Just standing in front of him, one could feel the arrogant and fierce aura emanating from his body.

Besides this man, there were three others, each with an extraordinary demeanor and a martial spirit full of Essence Qi.

One was a dwarf less than a meter tall, dressed in a gray frock coat, holding a curved blade.

Another was a pretty woman carrying a white metal flower basket, wearing a pink short dress; she seemed to attract bees and butterflies, yet the basket faintly emitted a pungent and choking smell, clearly filled with many poisonous items.

The last was a fair-haired Caucasian bound with thick chains. This person had a dull complexion and a foolish look, seemingly with some mental issues.

But just in terms of the flow of Qi and Blood, this person was the most dangerous in Zhang Rongfang’s eyes.

Like a volcano on the verge of eruption.

“You all seem to be no ordinary folks. May we leave a name for each other and perhaps become friends in the future?” Zhang Rongfang said aloud with a calm face, clasping his fists.

The others were alright, but from the last Caucasian man, he smelled a thick scent of blood and flesh.

This scent was thicker than the previous two times!

The last time he smelled such a potent scent of blood was when he faced Grandmaster Kongwu…

If he could eat flesh this time… perhaps replenishing the blood and flesh could add more than ten points!

Zhang Rongfang couldn’t suppress his imagination.

Back in Citong, he thought he was already very strong. Gradually, a trace of arrogance began to grow in his heart.

But after returning to the Great Capital once, his arrogance was instantly extinguished.

Not to mention the Spirit Court and his master over there, even Zhou Yan from the Snow Rainbow Pavilion might not be someone he could deal with.

So…. he needed to continue accumulating attribute points, gaining more talent abilities…

“Since Daoist from Great Dao Teaching personally asks, we ought to respond properly with our names. This might be the time for us, the Four Fiends of Li Lake, to become famous worldwide!”

That scholar chuckled softly.

“Four Fiends of Li Lake?” Zhang Rongfang looked around secretly, assessing the surroundings.

This time, he was quite certain he should be able to eat.

Because the surroundings were flat plains, one could see clearly if anyone was present.

And on the other side was just a small piece of woodland, from where these people had just walked out, impossible to hide anyone else.

So…

Everything about this time looked foolproof!

Zhang Rongfang immediately became excited.

Ten days…

Who knew how he survived these ten days.

Enduring days without proper meals was manageable, but whenever he finally met something edible, it would be snatched away by Ding Rui.

Once wasn’t enough; Ding Rui snatched twice in a row!

Had he not sensed something odd about Ding Rui, unsure about his true strength.

He might have already attacked him, just knocking him out.

But this time.

This time was different.

The surrounding terrain was open, with no one in sight.

The opponents were numerous, each seemingly strong, even if Ding Rui arrived, he couldn’t possibly stop everyone.

So this time….

“Let it be known, we four have been entrenched here for years, now have long been affiliated with the West Sect True Buddha Temple as the Four Absolute Hands of Li Lake!”

At this moment the scholar lightly chuckled, introducing himself.

“I am Li Haosheng, known as Twin Jade Guardian.”

The second dwarf laughed sharply, “I am Xiao Jingrong, known as the Shadow Assassin.”

The third woman stepped forward with a gentle smile.

“Shangguan Li, known as the Hundred Flower Fairy.”

The fourth brawny fair-haired Caucasian stepped forward.

“Nios, Red Horn Black Rhinoceros!”

“So… you four intend to block my way, really not letting me pass?”

Zhang Rongfang carefully checked his surroundings, indeed finding no signs of anyone coming to aid.

Immediately he felt assured.

“Really intend to fight me?” he said in a deep voice.

“Why do you say that, Daoist? What’s the meaning of asking knowingly? Forget it…” Scholar Li Haosheng smiled slightly, “Talking like this is inconvenient, better for the Daoist to rest for a while, and after reaching the Great Capital, we’ll properly converse…”

The final syllable of the word rest barely fell when he rushed forward, dashing towards Zhang Rongfang.

No sooner said than seen.

Just then.

Shhh!!!

Zhang Rongfang’s heart skipped, promptly looking around.

Not the Will Wheel!!

His heart settled once more.

Then with rising heat in his heart, this time he surely could….

Immediately, Zhang Rongfang couldn’t wait, stepping forward, his Qi and Blood flowing rapidly.

Suddenly lifting his head forward…..

Poof!

Ding Rui was slowly walking out from the small woods, holding the Will Wheel, smiling faintly.

In front of him, the Hundred Flower Fairy Shangguan Li of the Four Fiends of Li Lake, at the moment was pulling her hand slowly out from the vital spot on Li Haosheng’s back.

A splash of blood spilled onto the ground.

The Hundred Flower Fairy and the other two looked calm and natural, as if it was just a matter of course.

Only Li Haosheng… turned his head back in disbelief, kneeling to the ground, unable to believe his teammate had stabbed him in the back….

“Why….!?”

“At the behest of Young Master Ding Rui, we’ve been waiting for the Daoist for a long time.”

Shangguan Li smiled respectfully at Zhang Rongfang.

“…” Zhang Rongfang’s expression instantly froze.

Alright… this time it turns out we’re on the same side… don’t think about anything else.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep