Chapter 57: Chapter 56: A Fitting Burial Ground

His chilling words were accompanied by the rustle of movement.

From within the dense thicket of thorns, a tall figure in a dark blue robe slowly emerged. He stood as straight and sharp as a Long Sword.

Although his hair was a mess and his body was spattered with blood, making him look utterly wretched, his eyes were piercingly bright.

His pupils seemed to swirl with countless streams of Sword Qi, making one’s skin prickle at the mere sight of them.

He himself was like an unsheathed, peerless Divine Sword, radiating an edge sharp enough to shatter all in its path.

It was none other than Lin Fan, the fugitive they had been hunting.

In the distance, the guards and Knights holding back the two Great Demon Beasts turned pale with shock at the sight.

No one had expected Lin Fan, the man they’d been hunting, to show himself so brazenly at a time like this.

Who, then, was the person the others had been tracking?

’Could it be that we’ve all been tricked? The real Lin Fan was hiding all along, and the person on the run was someone else entirely.’

’And this woman, Miss Xiao—was she Lin Fan’s accomplice?’

’Was their real objective still to assassinate the young master?’

A chill ran down everyone’s spines. They trembled in fear. If anything happened to the young master, none of them could bear the consequences.

Beneath her gauze veil, Xiao Yingyue’s expression flickered, but she quickly regained her composure.

She had already realized it. Lin Fan must have lured these two Great Demon Beasts here to keep Jiang Lan’s guards and Knights occupied.

Since Lin Fan could trigger a Demon Beast stampede in this area, drawing these two Great Demon Beasts over wouldn’t have been difficult.

’That bastard... he knew I left the scent of Butterfly Glow Grass on him. I don’t know how he managed to force it out of his body, but he used it to lead the others away...’

Xiao Yingyue’s heart sank. They had all fallen for Lin Fan’s ploy to lure the tiger from the mountain.

Her cultivation hadn’t recovered, and she couldn’t do anything with just her physical strength. And Jiang Lan was just an ordinary person.

His guards and Knights were busy fending off the two Great Demon Beasts; they couldn’t even protect themselves, let alone come to Jiang Lan’s aid.

"Miss Xiao, were you in league with this man all along?"

Just as Xiao Yingyue was pondering a strategy to escape, Jiang Lan’s unhurried voice suddenly cut in from the side.

A rare look of astonishment crossed her beautiful face beneath the veil. She froze for a moment, wanting nothing more than to shoot the man a vicious glare.

’Can’t he see that Lin Fan is just trying to sow discord?’

’She didn’t know how Lin Fan had recovered his strength so quickly, but she knew that after he killed Jiang Lan, he certainly wouldn’t spare her.’

"What do you think, Young Master Jiang?"

Xiao Yingyue quickly composed herself. She let out a soft breath and retorted.

Jiang Lan, still as unhurried as ever, chuckled. "I doubt Miss Xiao has the nerve."

’Xiao Yingyue didn’t want to talk to him anymore. How could he be so composed at a time like this? Does he have some ace up his sleeve?’

"Death is upon you, yet you feign such composure. You despicable cur, your nerve is impressive."

Lin Fan stared coldly at Jiang Lan. He couldn’t believe that even in this situation, the man was so calm and composed he had time to banter with the woman beside him.

This only strengthened his resolve to torture him to death.

’No, even torturing him to death wouldn’t be enough to quell the hatred in his heart.’

’He would make this despicable cur weep, kneel, and beg for mercy, make him regret everything he did that day.’

Jiang Lan merely glanced at him, paying him no mind.

Xiao Yingyue looked at him with great seriousness, her voice tense.

"If you have any tricks up your sleeve, Young Master Jiang, now is the time to use them. Lin Fan is gravely injured and afflicted by a cold ailment. He’s just forcing himself to endure. Even if he’s recovered some of his cultivation, it’s a drop in the bucket. He doesn’t have much of his true strength left."

"We’re in the same boat now. I imagine he wants to kill you just as badly as he wants to kill me."

’She’s quite perceptive.’

Jiang Lan shook his head and said softly, "Why don’t you try to stall him, Miss Xiao? Once my men realize something is wrong, they should hurry back."

SHIIING!

The words had barely left his lips when a beam of Sword Aura descended from the sky. The terrifying Sword Qi plowed a horrifying fissure into the earth.

If not for Xiao Yingyue’s quick reflexes, yanking him aside, the blow would have surely struck him.

Even so, the aftershock of the Sword Qi sent shards of rock flying, a testament to its formidable power.

"Heh. Plotting right in front of me, trying to stall for time... you really have no respect for me."

"Should I call you foolish, or pathetic?"

Lin Fan gave a cold smile and strode forward. He held his fingers together like a blade, Sword Intent coiling around his body.

He looked at Jiang Lan as if he were already a dead man.

"You really aren’t afraid to die, are you? I thought you were so calm because you had a trick up your sleeve."

Xiao Yingyue coughed repeatedly, choking on the dust. The gauze veil that had concealed her face fell to the ground.

Even in the dim night, illuminated only by the campfire, her picturesque, jade-like face was clearly visible.

Her brows arched like distant mountains, and her eyes shone like cold stars. Her skin was as white as snow, her nose delicate, her lips like cherries. She was the very picture of beauty, with a waist as slender as a willow and a face as lovely as the moon.

"Have you forgotten, Miss Xiao? I have no cultivation whatsoever. I’m just an ordinary person. What kind of ’means’ could you possibly expect me to have?"

Jiang Lan coughed a few times, seemingly choked by the swirling dust, and sighed. "Miss Xiao, you had better think of a way to stall him. If I die, he certainly won’t spare you. And if you abandon me to escape, my family will not spare you either."

"You..."

Xiao Yingyue was speechless. She shot him a glare with her beautiful eyes. "There’s something off about his aura. He must have used some kind of Secret Technique. He can’t keep it up for long."

"Hold on to me."

Before Jiang Lan could refuse, she grabbed him, dashed to the side, and took the reins of a Cyan Jade Deer, swiftly mounting it.

"Go!"

Xiao Yingyue gave a sharp cry. The Cyan Jade Deer let out a loud bleat and leaped into the air, carrying the two of them away like a cyan rainbow as it plunged into the deep forest.

"Let’s see how far you can run." 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

Watching them flee, Lin Fan just sneered. His expression turned impassive as he transformed into a sword-like shadow and gave chase.

He had already lured Jiang Lan’s guards far away using a Celestial Cloud Sparrow.

Even if they realized what was happening and rushed back, it would take them an hour at the very least.

That was more than enough time for him to kill Jiang Lan hundreds of times over.

Throughout the mountain range, the roars of Demon Beasts echoed in a chaotic chorus. Leaves rained down from the trees in the ensuing turmoil.

The Cyan Jade Deer carried Jiang Lan and Xiao Yingyue deeper into the mountains, with Lin Fan in hot pursuit.

One beam of Sword Aura after another shot through the pitch-black night, each one blindingly brilliant.

Their power was immense. Swaths of ancient trees collapsed and snapped in their wake, unable to hinder him for even a moment.

Having recovered a sliver of his cultivation, Lin Fan had immediately used a Secret Skill, burning his own life force and Essence Blood to temporarily restore his former power.

However, this state could only last for the time it takes half an incense stick to burn.

Soon, the Cyan Jade Deer had covered hundreds of miles, plunging deep into the primeval mountain range where the miasma grew even thicker.

But in this region, the roars of Demon Beasts were noticeably fewer.

The highly intelligent Cyan Jade Deer, however, refused to take another step forward, as if sensing some terrifying presence ahead.

Jiang Lan and Xiao Yingyue had no choice but to dismount the Cyan Jade Deer and stop.

"There must be a Demon Beast of Demon King-level strength nearby. We can’t go any deeper. If we stray into a Demon King’s territory, we’ll die even faster..." Her fine brows furrowed as she spoke.

She decided to make her move and try to stall Lin Fan.

Though she was without her cultivation, she was still an accomplished expert with an exceptionally tough physical body.

It would be nearly impossible for Lin Fan to kill her quickly. If she combined her efforts with her Poison Skills, she might even have a chance of success.

"So, we’ve ended up here?"

Jiang Lan strolled forward, a flicker of surprise in his eyes as he surveyed the area.

Ahead, dense fog roiled and miasma permeated the air. A fierce, violent wind blew toward them.

A deep, seemingly bottomless chasm was visible—the Abyss of Despair. It stretched across the landscape, spanning hundreds of miles.

’In the original story, this was where Lin Fan and Xiao Yingyue joined forces to slay a Transformed Demon King. After Lin Fan completed the Refinement of its Demon Pill, his power surged.’

’But now, the situation was completely different: Lin Fan was hunting both him and Xiao Yingyue.’

’Then again, this place is a fitting burial ground for Lin Fan.’ Jiang Lan thought with a faint inner smile, though not a ripple of emotion showed in his eyes.