Immortality Cultivation

Chapter 227: Encountering the Black Tiger Gang

Fang Hao, clutching the broken recording bead and dealing with the turbulent waves of shock in his heart, fumbled through the dense fog of the ruins for another half a day.

Unfortunately, besides finding a few more broken stones etched with incomprehensible ghost runes that crumbled at the slightest touch, he discovered nothing else of value.

It seemed this place had been abandoned for countless millennia; any items of value had either been eroded by time or looted long ago.

He was not discouraged, however; after all, obtaining such explosive clues about the "battle heaven axe fragment" and the "War Heaven Clan" was already a massive gain.

He continued to explore deeper into the Secret Realm where the Spiritual Qi was denser, while calculating his next moves.

"This Secret Realm is even deeper than I imagined. Ruins of an ancient race... no wonder it is called the ’Savage Secret Realm’."

"If I can find that so-called ’Legacy of Power’, or collect a few more axe fragments, perhaps I can truly resolve the troubles of my Seven Spiritual Roots cultivation, or even obtain a heaven-shaking Body Refining or power Divine Ability!"

Fang Hao grew more excited the more he thought about it, feeling that coming to this Secret Realm was the right choice.

However, the excitement lasted less than three seconds before he calmed down.

The greater the opportunity, the greater the risk.

There were now more than just Demon Beasts and natural dangers in this Secret Realm.

He counted his "enemies" on his fingers.

Number one, the Sun Family.

This was a deadly feud; he had killed their deacon, crippled one of Sun Tianqi’s arms, and soundly humiliated the Sun Family at the Azure Dragon Society.

The Sun Family was the Crown Prince’s maternal family with deep-rooted influence, so they would certainly send experts to hunt him down in this Secret Realm, and it would absolutely be a fight to the death.

Number two, the Zhao Family.

A newly formed feud.

He had stolen Zhao Wuji’s crimson essence fruit and made him lose face in public.

Zhao Wuji was proud and vengeful, so he was surely searching the entire Secret Realm for him, wanting to tear him to pieces.

The Zhao Family was also one of the Eight Great Families and was not to be trifled with.

"Damn it, I’ve offended two major powers at once, and one of them is royal family."

Fang Hao felt bitter; this starting difficulty was truly Hell.

Both families were not to be underestimated, and if they met in the Secret Realm, they would definitely strike with lethal intent without the slightest hesitation.

Besides these two families, were there any other potential threats?

For example, the blade-wielding Loose Cultivator whose hand he had crippled and his accomplice?

Or that Zhou Family heir, Zhou Shitong, whom he had also tricked?

These people were weaker, but it would be troublesome if they jumped out to cause trouble at a critical moment.

"No, I have to find a way."

Fang Hao moved carefully through the dense fog while his mind raced.

"Fighting head-on is definitely out of the question; two fists cannot beat four hands, and even a good tiger cannot hold off a pack of wolves. I must use my wits."

The first thing that came to mind was the "star evolution plate".

This item could guide his direction and might help him avoid large groups of enemies in advance or find terrain that was easy to defend and difficult to attack, suitable for ambushes.

Next were the "Shadowless Evasion Technique" and the "empty clarity mirror".

If he couldn’t win, he could run or hide.

As long as he wasn’t surrounded, he would have room to maneuver.

Then, there was the "golden puppet".

This was his ultimate trump card, possessing the combat power of a Middle Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator; once exposed, it could absolutely turn the tide of battle, but the consequences would be extremely severe, so he could not use it unless it was a matter of life and death.

"Perhaps... I could try to divert the disaster?"

A flash of cunning crossed Fang Hao’s eyes.

Although the Sun Family and the Zhao Family were both his enemies, didn’t they have conflicts between themselves?

Among the Eight Great Families, there were plenty of conflicts of interest and infighting.

If he could create some misunderstanding and make them fight each other, wouldn’t he be safe? He might even be able to fish in troubled waters.

Once this idea popped up, it took root in his mind.

How to execute it would depend on the opportunity.

Just as he was pondering, the fog in front suddenly thinned, revealing a forest of jagged, strange rocks.

From within the stone forest, sounds of fighting and Spell explosions could be faintly heard, but they quickly subsided.

"More people?"

Fang Hao immediately restrained his aura, activated the "Shadowless Evasion Technique", and silently crept behind a huge, strange rock to peek.

He saw two corpses lying in a small clearing in the stone forest; judging by their attire, they were Disciples of some small Sect, both at the Late Foundation Establishment Stage, and they were already dead.

Standing beside the corpses were three Cultivators dressed in uniform black tight-fitting outfits, with a ferocious tiger head embroidered on their chests, who were looting the Storage Pouches and Magical Artifacts from the bodies.

These three, two at the Early Golden Core Stage and one at the Middle Golden Core Stage, had fierce auras and cold eyes, clearly hardened characters who frequently engaged in murder and robbery.

"People from the Black Tiger Gang?"

Fang Hao recognized the emblem.

The Black Tiger Gang was a fairly powerful Gang of Loose Cultivators in the Heavenly Capital, both righteous and evil, and they would stop at nothing to achieve their goals; he hadn’t expected them to have entered as well.

"Big brother, just this junk, what bad luck."

An Early Golden Core Stage man spat.

"Stop the nonsense, even mosquito legs are meat.

Clean up quickly, we can’t stay in this place for long."

The Middle Golden Core Stage leader, a one-eyed man, said coldly.

Fang Hao’s gaze swept over, and suddenly, in the tightly clenched hand of one of the corpses, he saw a familiar, faint black glow!

Although it was mostly blocked by the corpse’s fingers, the material and the feeling... it was extremely similar to the "battle heaven axe fragment" he had obtained!

Was it another fragment?!

Fang Hao’s heart jumped violently!

Could it be that these two unlucky fellows were killed by the Black Tiger Gang precisely because of this fragment?

He immediately held his breath, his eyes turning sharp.

He had to get this fragment!

Not just because of the value of the fragment itself, but because he wanted to verify if collecting the fragments could truly trigger something, or find more clues about the "War Heaven Clan".

But there were three opponents, one at the Middle Golden Core Stage and two at the Early Golden Core Stage.

If he tried to snatch it by force, even if he could win, the commotion would certainly not be small; if it attracted people from the Sun Family or Zhao Family, it would be troublesome.

Just as he was rapidly thinking of countermeasures, the one-eyed leader seemed to have finished looting, stuffed several Storage Pouches into his bosom, and then his gaze landed on the tightly clenched hand of the corpse.

He also saw that faint black glow.

"Hmm? What is this?"

The one-eyed man bent down, pried open the corpse’s fingers, and picked up the palm-sized, irregularly shaped black fragment, examining it carefully.

"A piece of broken iron? It looks a bit old, but there’s no Spiritual Qi fluctuation."

Fang Hao’s heart rose to his throat.

If this guy didn’t know its value and threw it away or didn’t care about it, he could wait for them to leave and pick it up.

However, the one-eyed man looked at it for a few moments and seemed to think the fragment was unremarkable, but perhaps adhering to the principle that "a thief never leaves empty-handed," he casually tossed the fragment to an Early Golden Core Stage man beside him.

"Third bro, take it, see if you can sell it to some junk collector outside for some wine money."

"Alright, big brother!"

The man took the fragment, didn’t even look at it, and casually stuffed it into his bosom.

Fang Hao secretly lamented; it seemed this group really didn’t recognize it.

But since the fragment was now on the other party, he would have to take action to get it back.

Just as he was preparing to take advantage of them turning to leave and ambush the "Third bro" who was carrying the fragment, a sudden change occurred!

From the dense fog on the other side of the stone forest, a rush of air suddenly came!

Immediately following, several sharp Sword Qi beams shot towards the three members of the Black Tiger Gang like a rainstorm!

"Careful!"

The one-eyed leader reacted extremely quickly, gave a sharp shout, and with a flash of black light on his body, conjured a bone shield to block in front of him!

Clang, clang, clang—!

The Sword Qi beams struck the bone shield, producing dense explosions.

The other two Early Golden Core Stage men also hurriedly defended, but one of them was still slashed on the arm by a tricky Sword Qi beam, blood flowing freely.

"Who?! How dare you ambush my Black Tiger Gang!"

The one-eyed leader was both shocked and angry.

The fog dispersed, and five people walked out.

The leader, with a cold expression and holding a long sword, was none other than Zhao Wuji!

Behind him followed four Zhao Family Disciples, all at the Early Golden Core Stage.

Enemies truly do meet on a narrow road!

Fang Hao’s eyelids twitched, and he quickly shrank back behind the rock.

Things were getting lively now!

"Black Tiger Gang? A bunch of motley crew, and you dare to enter this Secret Realm to die?"

Zhao Wuji’s gaze coldly swept over the three members of the Black Tiger Gang, finally landing on the one-eyed leader, with undisguised contempt.

"Hand over what you just obtained, along with your Storage Pouches, and then cripple your own cultivation, and I might consider leaving you a whole corpse."

"Zhao Wuji?! You are going too far!"

The one-eyed leader was so angry that his one eye turned red; although their Black Tiger Gang was not as good as the Eight Great Families, they were people who licked blood off the edge of a blade, so how could they be humiliated like this?

"Brothers, fight them to the death!"

"Courting death!"

Killing intent flashed in Zhao Wuji’s eyes, and he waved his long sword.

"Kill them!"

The two sides instantly clashed!

Zhao Wuji’s swordsmanship was superb, and he fought the one-eyed leader alone, firmly occupying the upper hand.

The four Zhao Family Disciples surrounded the other two members of the Black Tiger Gang.

For a time, Sword Qi crisscrossed in the stone forest, Spells flew everywhere, and they fought inextricably.

Fang Hao hid in the shadows, watching with great delight.

Fight! Keep fighting!

Dogs biting dogs, a mouthful of fur!

It would be best if both sides suffered heavy losses!

His gaze was locked tightly on the Black Tiger Gang’s "Third bro" who was carrying the fragment.

This guy was being surrounded by two Zhao Family Disciples, facing precarious situations, and it looked like he wouldn’t be able to hold on much longer.

"The opportunity has come!"

Fang Hao’s eyes sharpened, like a viper waiting for its prey, silently locking onto the target.