Chapter 311: Return My Money!
The young woman in a cloud-patterned embroidered skirt was kind enough to warn him of the dangers of the place earlier, so Ye Guan didn't ignore her plight. However, the puppet was far stronger than Ye Guan had expected, astonishing him.
At the same time, he was thrilled. Since his recent breakthrough, he had been wanting to have a good fight to measure his own strength. The puppet before him was the perfect sparring partner.
Ye Guan thrust his sword toward the puppet, and it reached the puppet in the blink of an eye. The puppet didn't retreat in the face of the sword thrust. It retaliated with the same sword move, aiming for Ye Guan's throat.
It seemed willing to give up its life to take Ye Guan's life, but Ye Guan wasn't going to fall for the puppet's antics. Ye Guan was aware that the puppet's body was as hard as iron and impervious to conventional weapons.
Ye Guan didn't dare to play right into the puppet's cards. He leaped to the side and dodged the attack, but the puppet's sword thrust turned into a sword slash, slashing fiercely toward Ye Guan in a beautiful arc.
Astonished, Ye Guan lifted his sword up to his chest to block.
Clang!
The sound of metal clashing against metal echoed, and Ye Guan flew at least a few kilometers away. Blood dripped down Ye Guan's slips when he finally recovered his balance and came to a halt.
The young woman was alarmed. She rushed over to Ye Guan's side and asked, "Are you okay?"
Ye Guan wiped the blood from the corners of his lips as he looked at his right shoulder.
His right shoulder had split open, and blood was flowing haphazardly out of his wound, creating a horrifying sight. The puppet was truly a frightening opponent. It excelled at both offense and defense, making it seem as though it had no openings to exploit.
Just then, the puppet held its sword vertically and placed the blade a few inches away from its glabella. It raised its left hand and created a sword finger before pointing at the ground.
Seeing that, Ye Guan grabbed the young woman and said, "Miss, this puppet is too strong for us to fight! We have to retreat.
Ye Guan's voice had yet to finish echoing through the air, but the puppet was already charging toward them. Ye Guan held the young woman's hand and dragged her away in a bid to escape.
The young woman blushed at Ye Guan's firm grip on her hand. When had a man been so close to her? Instinctively, she struggled, but Ye Guan’s grip on her hand was too firm and strong. In addition, they were in a dangerous situation, so she decided to ignore her instinct in the meantime.
It's not that I want him to hold my hand. I even tried to shake him off, but he's holding my hand so firmly that I can't even move it. She thought to herself.
"Sis! I'm still here!" A young man's voice reverberated from behind. "Don't leave me behind!"
The young woman came to her senses upon hearing the young man's voice, and she couldn't believe that she was just about to abandon her younger brother. She looked back and was surprised to find that there was already a gap of about a kilometer between them. Fortunately, the puppet didn't continue on chasing both Ye Guan and the young man but had instead retreated to a distant hall.
The three breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing the puppet's retreat.
Ye Guan took an Immortal-grade spiritual pill and swallowed it.
He offered one to the young woman and said, “Miss, take this!”
The young woman didn't reject his kind gesture and said, “Thank you!”
However, she put it away rather than consuming it. The white-robed young man saw that and chimed in, "What about me? Where's mine?
Ye Guan merely glanced at the white-robed young man before saying, "My apologies, but I have a limited number of spiritual pills.."
Ye Guan was lying, but the white-robed young man's lips twitched slightly upon hearing Ye Guan's excuse. He then glared at Ye Guan, but the latter decisively ignored him before sitting down cross-legged and closing his eyes to recover from his injuries.
The young woman took out a white jade bottle and handed it over to Ye Guan.
"Here!" she said. To Ye Guan's surprise, the white jade bottle contained five Supreme Divine-grade spiritual pills! Ye Guan knew that resources were scarce here, which meant spiritual pills of such grade were incredibly rare.
The black-robed old man earlier didn't even have such a pill, but the young woman before him had generously produced five such pills for him. Ye Guan quickly deduced that she definitely had a special status.
Ye Guan didn't stand on ceremony and said, “Thank you!”
The young woman smiled and said, “My name's Nangong Xue. What's your name?”
Ye Guan responded, “Ye Guan!”
The white-robed young man suddenly asked, “Are you from that Ye Clan located in the Southernmost Divine Continent?”
Ye Guan shook his head.
The white-robed young man asked, “Are you a rogue cultivator?”
Ye Guan nodded. “Yes.”
The white-robed young man went silent as he stared deeply at Ye Guan.
However, Nangong Xue was shocked. “You are a rogue cultivator?”
Ye Guan nodded. “Yes.”
Nangong Xue smiled, “Wow, you're so impressive in spite of your status as a rogue cultivator. You managed to reach such a high level of strength without relying on your family members or parents. You've done something really impressive."
Ye Guan laughed sheepishly and said, "Thank you.”
Nangong Xue pursed her lips and smiled. The gleam in her eyes brightened as she examined Ye Guan from top to bottom. Ye Guan was wearing a white robe, but Nangong Xue also caught a glimpse of blue clothing beyond his white robe.
Ye Guan's posture was fine; his eyebrows were sharp, and his eyes were shining brightly like stars. His facial features combined to form a harmonious relationship that made Ye Guan incredibly handsome. In addition to his courteousness and easygoing demeanor, he truly seemed like a graceful gentleman.
Nangong Xue got so engrossed in her examination that the white-robed young man tugged at her sleeves and shook her back to reality.
"You shouldn't stare at otters like that, Sis! It's impolite!"
Nangong Xue's face flushed red.
The white-robed young man was dumbfounded.
He wasn't dimwitted, so he could see that his sister had a great impression of the young swordsman. The white-robed young man pulled Nangong Xue aside and said, "Sis, he's a rogue cultivator!"
Nangong Xue calmly responded, "So what if he's a rogue cultivator?"
The white-robed young man sounded serious as he spoke in a deep voice, "Don't play dumb. We're members of the prestigious Nangong Clan, and our marriages aren't up to us to decide. Your feelings for him are only going to hurt you and him!"
Nangong Xue was both ashamed and furious as she retorted, "What are you talking about? What nonsense are you talking about, Nangong Yun?!"
She raised her hand and delivered a juicy knuckle sandwich to Nangong Yun's face.
Bam!
Caught off guard, Nangong Yun was blasted a hundred meters away.
Nangong Yun went numb and despondent. Meanwhile, Ye Guan finally stood up. He was on the cusp of completely recovering from his injuries, but he judged that he would fully recover once they had escaped.
Ye Guan looked at Nangong Xue beside him and asked with a smile, "Lady Nangong Xue, what are your plans?"
Nangong Xue asked back, “What about you?”
Ye Guan's gaze landed on the summit of the mountain.
He smiled and said, “I want to keep trying.”
Nangong Xue looked at Ye Guan and asked, “Are you confident?”
Ye Guan shook his head and said, “Not a hundred percent, but I still want to try.”
Nangong Xue immediately said, "I'll go with you, then!"
Ye Guan hesitated.
Nangong Xue stared deeply at Ye Guan and asked, "Are you afraid that I'll drag you down?"
Ye Guan smiled and replied, "How could that be? Lady Nangong Xue, you're extremely powerful. If I were to fight you, I wouldn't have the confidence to win."
He wasn't lying. The young woman in front of him was a Time Immortal Realm cultivator, which meant that she was a formidable cultivator. If he were to engage in a one-on-one battle with her, he wouldn't be confident of his victory.
Nangong Xue laughed. "Let's go together, then!"
Ye Guan thought about it before nodding. “Alright!”
Ye Guan then looked at Nangong Yun.
Nangong Yun said before Ye Guan could say anything, “I will go with you two, of course.”
"You should go back to the clan," said Nangong Xue.
Nangong Yun was stunned.
Nangong Xue used a stern voice to explain, "You're too weak. You'll only be in danger if you stay here."
Nangong Yun couldn't block even a single sword move from the puppet.
In other words, he would just be a burden if he were to stay with them.
Nangong Yun was a bit displeased, but Nangong Xue narrowed her eyes at him, making Nangong Yun inadvertently take a few steps backward. Clearly, Nangong Yun was afraid of his sister.
Nangong Yun made a sidelong glance at the summit and sighed in his heart before saying, "You should be careful, then, Sis! I'll go back to the clan first!"
Nangong Yun glanced deeply at Ye Guan before walking away.
Ye Guan turned t o Nangong Xue and said, "Let's go!"
Ye Guan turned around and started walking toward the summit, eager to confront the puppet. In no time, the two arrived at the summit and found the puppet standing at the entrance of a hall.
Ye Guan didn't bother talking. He disappeared, and the puppet vanished as well!
Swoosh!
The air let out two ear-splitting shrill cries at practically the same time as two dazzling sword lights flew through the air and rushed toward their respective targets.
Ye Guan didn't dare to confront the puppet head-on. When his sword was only half a meter away from the puppet, Ye Guan abruptly unleashed his Sword Domain, and a domineering oppressive force instantly suppressed the puppet.
Nangong Xue's beautiful eyes lit up, and she exclaimed, "A Sword Domain!"
The puppet's speeding sword was abruptly slowed down, while Ye Guan's sword reached the puppet's neck in the blink of an eye.
The sword light shattered, and Ye Guan was forced to retreat hundreds of meters away.
Ye Guan was shaken upon coming to a stop. The puppet's strength and defense had exceeded his expectations, but he didn't dwell on it any further as the puppet was already closing in toward him.
Ye Guan abruptly thrust his sword.
Sword Dao Attack—a sword move emblazoned with the sword dao!
Nangong Xue's eyes widened into saucers as she muttered blankly, "That sword move..."
Boom!
The puppet staggered backward upon taking the brunt of Ye Guan’s attack.
Ye Guan chased after it and slashed out with his sword. Shockingly, his singular sword move contained the power of thirty instances of Beheading Heavens Sword Art!
Bam!
A massive sword light descended upon the puppet like a waterfall, and its immense power sent it flying toward a stone wall. However, the stone wall merely shook slightly without taking even the slightest damage.
Ye Guan grew even more solemn. He had noticed that the puppet was completely unscathed despite taking two mighty blows from him
Nangong Xue stood next to Ye Guan with a grave expression. However, it seemed that the puppet had no intention of letting them stew in their shock for a while longer as it stood up and charged forward. It raised its sword and slashed out multiple times, creating a seemingly endless amount of sword lights in the blink of an eye.
Ye Guan was stunned. He didn't expect that the puppet also had a sword art in its arsenal.
Left without even the luxury of thinking, Ye Guan stepped out and thrust his sword toward the oncoming puppet, performing yet another attack emblazoned with the sword dao.
Crackle!
The myriad of sword lights were extinguished, and Ye Guan was sent flying away.
However, the puppet suffered the same fate, and if it hadn't been for the stone wall behind it, it would have flown much farther. As soon as Ye Guan stopped, he felt as if his intestine was torn apart; blood flowed out incessantly from his mouth.
Nangong Xue suddenly appeared next to Ye Guan.
She bent down before taking out a Supreme-Divine grade spiritual pill.
Ye Guan accepted the pill, and his injuries healed rapidly.
Nangong Xue muttered, "Young Lord Ye, the puppet is too strong, we should—"
Ye Guan interrupted, "Don't worry!"
With that, he jumped right back into the fray.
Nangong Xue was taken by surprise. Was he really going to continue fighting?
Nangong Xue was right. Ye Guan kept on challenging the puppet. At first, the puppet would always win by a landslide, but Ye Guan didn't mind as he knew that he would improve significantly over the next few days.
Ye Guan was right. It only took him a few days to improve drastically.
Boom!
As usual, Ye Guan cut a sorry figure as the puppet sent him flying away. However, there was something different with Ye Guan's defeat today. As soon as Ye Guan recovered his balance and stood up, a powerful aura burst out of him.
It was the aura of a True Immortal Realm cultivator!
Nangong Xue's eyes flashed in astonishment upon witnessing Ye Guan's breakthrough, and it was all because she truly didn't expect that Ye Guan was capable of making breakthroughs during battle.
Ye Guan's breakthrough into the True Immortal Realm had significantly boosted his overall prowess significantly.
Swoosh!
Ye Guan vanished, and a radiant sword light erupted. The stance was depicted in the Beheading Heavens Sword Art, but Ye Guan had emblazoned this sword move with thirty-five layers of the sword dao, increasing its overall power by several folds.
In fact, the attack had become so powerful that the world seemed to split open.
Boom!
A deafening explosion echoed, and the puppet flew toward the stone wall as if it were a kite with its string cut. The stone wall shook violently upon impact, and Ye Guan's eyes lit up in excitement upon seeing a deep gash in the puppet's sturdy body.
I did it! Ye Guan was thrilled. Indeed, fighting was the best way to become stronger! His fight against the puppet demanded his full attention the whole time, as a single instance of destruction could mean suffering severe injuries.
Ye Guan's heightened senses allowed him to unleash his potential, which allowed him to make a breakthrough.
Ye Guan struggled for quite a while against the puppet until he found the opportunity to send another fully concentrated strike. The sword move remained the same—thirty-nine Beheading Heavens Sword Art emblazoned with thirty-nine layers of the sword dao!
The puppet cut a sorry figure in mid-air. It failed to withstand Ye Guan's sword attack, and it struck the stone wall once more. However, Ye Guan clearly had no intentions of letting the puppet rest as he charged toward it once more.
Yet another sword strike! The puppet instinctively raised its sword to protect itself.
Boom!
The sword light shattered, and the puppet was sent flying, crashing heavily into the stone wall. It had just come to its senses, but a sword had already pierced its head. The puppet stiffened and went rigid.
Thud!
Ye Guan collapsed to the ground with a dull thud; he was completely devoid of energy.
It was just too exhausting! Ye Guan had just confirmed that emotionless, terrifying puppets unafraid of death were more challenging compared to fighting human opponents.
Meanwhile, Nangong Xue still couldn't move on from what she had witnessed. She truly couldn't quite believe that the swordsman before her could defeat a half-step Great Sovereign puppet. What a formidable young man!
It was no wonder that the most powerful cultivators were once rogue cultivators.
After a brief rest, Ye Guan put away the motionless puppet. He started talking to Nangong Xue before proceeding toward the gate. The two were extremely vigilant, and they didn't dare to be careless.
Creak!
A creaking sound echoed, and the two walked past it.
However, Ye Guan and Nangong Xue abruptly froze upon seeing someone walking in their direction. Someone's here?
The other party also froze upon seeing both Ye Guan and Nangong Xue. They definitely didn't expect to see anyone here. However, the other party's eyes widened the moment they clapped his eyes on Ye Guan.
"Y-y-you… it's actually you!" exclaimed the other party. They grabbed Ye Guan's arm and shouted, "Damn it, give me back my money! Hurry up and return my money!"
Ye Guan was both flustered and confused.
He truly couldn't remember having borrowed money from anyone.
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