Chapter 318: Chapter 317: Various Parties Converge
The next morning, Ye Fan followed the South Witch Queen’s tribal army as they marched through the Great Witch Mountain Range, the ancestral home of the Witch Clan.
The Great Witch Mountain Range was incredibly majestic. Each mountain was a towering, solitary peak, unconnected to any other. As Ye Fan took in the spectacular landscape, he felt as if he could survey the heavens and the earth.
By then, the South Witch Queen had finished gathering her forces. This time, she had summoned more than four hundred people. The Witch Clan had few warriors to begin with, as most of its members were ordinary folk. The South Witch Tribe itself possessed only about seven hundred fighters. With three hundred needed to guard their home, the four hundred she had gathered were the absolute limit they could mobilize.
At that moment, Ye Fan turned to Shangguan Qiuyue. "Qiuyue, you should go back."
"Why? I want to go with you," Shangguan Qiuyue said, shocked that he would ask her to leave at such a critical time.
"Be good now, my dear Qiuyue."
Ye Fan promptly pressed a sleeping point on her, and she fainted instantly. The South Witch Queen’s maidservant caught her.
"Take her back," Ye Fan instructed the maidservant, handing her a box. "When she wakes up, give this to her."
"Yes!"
The box contained a precious Spiritual Medicine, an extract from the White Mountain Thousand-year-old Ganoderma.
The South Witch Queen watched her maidservant carry Shangguan Qiuyue away before turning to Ye Fan. "Won’t this hurt her feelings?"
"I have no choice. Even if it hurts her, I must do this," Ye Fan replied grimly. "This journey will likely be fraught with danger. Even if she can take care of herself, I can’t take that risk. I refuse to put them in harm’s way."
The South Witch Queen nodded. "King of Heaven, you excel in many ways, but your attachments to women are a great entanglement."
Ye Fan simply smiled faintly, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.
With that, the South Witch Queen and her warriors headed deep into the Great Witch Mountain Range. The mountains were like a labyrinth, filled with pockets of poisonous miasma and sudden, dense fogs that could roll in at any moment. Though beautiful, the range was a perilous place, long considered a land beyond the bounds of civilization. It was said that the Great Witch Mountain Range seemed to belong not to this world, but to another entirely. These unique and treacherous natural conditions had shaped it over millennia. Without a guide from the Witch Clan, any outsider who entered would almost certainly become lost.
After three days of travel, they finally reached the Witch Clan’s base. In those three days, Ye Fan had witnessed sights that could be described as both a paradise on earth and a harsh, hostile wilderness.
The Dong Witch Queen, who had already arrived, came out to greet them personally. She hadn’t expected Ye Fan to come as well.
"Sister!" the South Witch Queen called out.
"Sister, you’ve finally come!" the Dong Witch Queen replied, a look of satisfaction on her face.
"This is my home, so of course I had to. This time, I will fight by your side until the very end!"
"Good, good, good!" the Dong Witch Queen repeated emphatically. She then asked, "Sister, have the others arrived?"
"Three others are here, which makes four including you. But there are a few who will certainly not be coming."
The South Witch Queen nodded, understanding the circumstances. "Has the Wu Emperor appeared yet?"
The Dong Witch Queen shook her head helplessly. Two days ago, she went to the Wu Emperor’s place of seclusion only to find it in ruins. It was clear he had left long ago.
"Don’t worry. I believe the Wu Emperor would never abandon the Witch Clan," the South Witch Queen declared. The Wu Emperor was their master, after all.
"I hope so," the Dong Witch Queen said with a bitter smile.
Time was short, so they kept their conversation brief. Ye Fan then stepped forward and addressed the Dong Witch Queen. "Dong Witch Queen, may I have a word with you?"
"Of course." The Dong Witch Queen knew he must have come for Yaoyao. As they stepped aside, she studied him. "Has the King of Heaven made another breakthrough?"
In fact, news of Ye Fan’s ascension to the Emperor Level was already widespread, but the Dong Witch Queen hadn’t left the Witch Clan’s territory recently and was unaware. He had, after all, made his name by killing the Shadow Stream Master of Japan, demonstrating the might of an Emperor-level Master.
"It was a fortunate breakthrough," Ye Fan said modestly.
"There is no luck on the path of Martial Arts. Congratulations, King of Heaven, on taking another great step forward," the Dong Witch Queen said.
Indeed, reaching the Emperor Level meant one could be considered a true overlord. After all, their own Wu Emperor was only at the Emperor Level. A single Emperor-level Master from the Mo Sect, Mo Dianwu, was enough to completely suppress their Witch Clan. Such was the power of the Emperor Level. Of course, an established master like Mo Dianwu, bolstered by the power of his Absolute Poison Gang, was far stronger than a typical one.
At this moment, Ye Fan got straight to the point. "I have come only for Yaoyao. Does anyone know her identity?" he asked in a low voice.
"Rest assured, King of Heaven," the Dong Witch Queen replied. "I have always kept matters concerning Yaoyao a closely guarded secret. Absolutely no one knows."
"That’s good," Ye Fan said, relieved. He then asked, "Is it true, as rumored, that Mo Dianwu intends to use the successor to cultivate his Absolute Poison Gang?"
"Yes," the Dong Witch Queen confirmed grimly. "The ideal vessel for the Absolute Poison Gang is a successor from our Witch Clan. Now that we have weakened, the Mo Sect oppresses us without restraint. But I will never divulge the successor’s identity, even if it means the destruction of the Witch Clan!" she declared with unshakable resolve.
Ye Fan nodded. "The Witch Clan will not be destroyed. Rest assured, I will fight alongside you this time—not for anyone else, but for Yaoyao’s future."
The Dong Witch Queen immediately knelt, her voice thick with gratitude. "Thank you for your immense grace, King of Heaven! The Witch Clan can never repay such kindness!"
"There’s no need for that. If it weren’t for Yaoyao, I would not be intervening in your war," Ye Fan stated bluntly.
The Dong Witch Queen understood. It was no wonder his words were so direct; after all, he had no deep ties with any of the Witch Clan’s tribes.
Suddenly, Ye Fan’s eyes narrowed. "Come out!" he commanded.
He unleashed a wave of Pure Yang Power, and his attack slammed into a woman as she tried to retreat. The force of his aura sent her stumbling to the ground. Ye Fan and the Dong Witch Queen were upon her in an instant.
"Ah Zhu!" the Dong Witch Queen snapped, her face flushed with anger. "You dare eavesdrop on your master’s conversation!"
"Master, I didn’t hear anything! I was just passing by!" the woman stammered in a panic.
"Passing by?" Ye Fan didn’t believe her for a second, and neither did the Dong Witch Queen. This concerned the very legacy of the Witch Clan; she could not remain calm.
"I don’t care if you heard anything or not," she snarled. "You are to forget this conversation. Otherwise, as your master, I will not spare you!"
Ah Zhu, clearly terrified of the Dong Witch Queen, quickly said, "Master, I swear I won’t say a word."
"All the better! Now, be gone!"
"Yes!" Ah Zhu scrambled to her feet and fled.
The Dong Witch Queen immediately turned to Ye Fan and bowed her head. "King of Heaven, my deepest apologies. My disciple overheard us. Should I...?" As she spoke, she made a sharp, slicing gesture across her throat.
