Chapter 247: Ye Dafu's Might
Two hours ago, at the plaza of the Hall of Immortal Recruitment, the nominal disciples handled registration for the quest as Ye Dafu and Ye Sanshui maintained order. As more Ascended disciples volunteered to help, however, Ye Dafu and Ye Sanshui found themselves without anything to do.
Just then, a man walked up to the two of them.
"Ye Sanshui, Ye Dafu? Senior Brother Xiao had me come find you. Please follow me."
"Has Senior Brother Xiao commanded you to lead us somewhere?" Ye Sanshui asked.
Xiao Nanfeng had just left them in charge of the registration. Why would he now send someone to take them away?
"Yes! Senior Brother Xiao didn't tell me about the specifics, only that the matter was urgent. Please hurry," the cultivator repeated.
Ye Sanshui frowned. He wasn't familiar with the person before him, but there were thousands of disciples in the Taiqing sect. He certainly wouldn't know all of them, but these were strange circumstances.
"Third Uncle, let's go. We're in the Taiqing Immortal Sect. Who would dare ambush us here? Senior Brother Xiao must have something important to task us with," Ye Dafu urged.
Ye Sanshui was silent for a moment. "You can go check out the situation. I'll wait here."
The cultivator frowned. "Senior Brother Xiao wants you both to go."
"Really? Where did you encounter him?" Ye Sanshui asked, frowning.
The cultivator inwardly frowned. He was here to trick them; he had just made up a reason and had no details with which to back it up. He didn't dare nudge Ye Dafu and Ye Sanshui further.
"Forget it. I've conveyed Senior Brother Xiao's words to you. If you're willing to come, follow me. Otherwise, we're done." The cultivator strode away.
"Third Uncle, what if Senior Brother Xiao really is trying to find us? If you're worried, you should stay here. I'll go have a look," Ye Dafu volunteered.
Ye Sanshui frowned at his nephew, but nodded.
He watched Ye Dafu follow the man toward the mountains. It was strange, he thought, that Xiao Nanfeng would summon someone to fetch them considering he had just left and was apparently headed to see Elder Ku.
"Everyone, do any of you know that junior disciple?" Ye Sanshui asked those around him.
The disciples all shook their heads. None of them knew him.
Ye Sanshui's brows furrowed. Something seemed amiss. He asked even more disciples in the vicinity, but no one knew his identity. It was true that there were a large number of Taiqing disciples, but surely at least one or two would know of him?
He quickly left a few Ascended disciples in charge of the registration as he chased after Ye Dafu,
but Ye Dafu and the mysterious cultivator were far away by now. He had had to ask disciples about whether they had seen his nephew, which took up even more time.
Simultaneously, Ye Dafu followed the mysterious cultivator toward a few side paths by the other side of the mountains. There was quickly no one within sight.
"Where are you bringing me? Why are we headed somewhere so remote? Didn't Senior Brother Xiao head to the Vault of Scriptures? This isn't the way there!" Ye Dafu frowned.
"Senior Brother Xiao didn't go to the Vault of Scriptures. Just follow me. We're almost there."
Ye Dafu, secure in the fact that he was within the Taiqing Immortal Sect, or perhaps in his improved cultivation, cast aside his doubts for the moment.
After some time, they entered a fog-wreathed valley, with flags for a formation at its mouth.
Ye Dafu finally sensed something amiss. He asked, "Are you trying to trick me?"
At the same time, the cultivator, who was standing to his back, drew a copper bat and smashed it toward Ye Dafu's head.
A thunk rang out, and the copper bat bent almost in half. Ye Dafu, on the other hand, seemed perfectly alright. The cultivator gaped at the bat that had now been contorted into a 几 shape, unable to believe that Ye Dafu's skull was so hard.
Ye Dafu's eyes widened. "You tried to attack me! You are a liar, after all! Who are you?"
Ye Dafu grabbed at the man's face, causing him to retreat.
"Your face has fallen off!" Ye Dafu cried out.
He had peeled a layer of skin from the man's face.
"What's up with you? Aren't you supposed to be an Ascension-realm disciple?" the man thundered.
With the man unmasked, Ye Dafu quickly recognized him. "You're Mr. Shu!"
He was the man who was recruiting Taiqing disciples at the Hall of Immortal Recruitment on Nalan Yunhai's behalf!
"You recognize me?" Mr. Shu asked coldly.
Ye Dafu, sensing that something was deeply wrong, attempted to flee.
"Running, are you? Can you get away? A formation has been set up in this valley. You won't be able to escape. Just you wait!" Mr. Shu shouted, chasing after him.
Ye Dafu feinted. After leading fighters in battle for a year in the undying realm, he had developed keen senses on the battlefield, and he had spent another half a year beating and getting beaten by his lackeys. He cocked a fist and punched Mr. Shu at full force.
"What?!"
Mr. Shu attempted to block the punch, but he was clearly slower than Ye Dafu. Ye Dafu's punch hit him squarely on the head, caving his skull in in a shower of blood.
Ye Dafu gaped at his fist. "Isn't Mr. Shu supposed to be in Spiritsong? How could he be so weak? All my brothers are at the peak of Ascension, and I beat them up daily. This hasn't ever happened before..."
Just then, cries came from the periphery of the fog.
"He killed Mr. Shu!"
"Is he a Spiritsong-realm cultivator?"
A group of cultivators emerged from the fog, brandishing their weapons and surrounding Ye Dafu.
Ye Dafu blanched and attempted to run out of the valley, but the two cultivators behind him clearly had no intention of letting him go. They struck at him with their blades.
Ye Dafu's body glimmered with golden light as he transformed into a man of gold. He bore the sword slashes with his bare skin, then punched forward with both fists, penetrating through the men's chests and killing them on the spot.
"How could he be so strong?!" the remaining cultivators shouted.
"Use the Immortal web!" someone commanded.
A rainbow flash surrounded Ye Dafu. A giant web had formed out of nowhere and trapped him inside.
"Damn it. Break!" Ye Dafu tore at the web, but it was too resilient even for the likes of him.
"This is an Immortal web we obtained from the draconic palace. Do you think you'd be able to get free? Dream on!" the cultivators jeered.
"Help! Save me!" Ye Dafu shouted.
Meanwhile, Nalan Yunhai led a group of men after Mr. Shu. When they came across Mr. Shu's caved-in head, they looked toward Ye Dafu with murderous glares.
"Ye Dafu, I'll kill you!" Nalan Yunhai roared.
"Your Highness?!" Ye Dafu blanched.
Ye Sanshui continued after his nephew's trail. After asking a large number of disciples along the way, he finally figured out the route that Ye Dafu had taken. He saw a fog-wreathed valley not too far away, without any sound coming from it. By the edges of the fog, he could barely make out a large flag.
"A thundercloud formation? This is a treasure that belongs to Nalan Yunhai, and it can hide all noise and commotion from within. Dafu's been tricked!" Ye Sanshui exclaimed.
He was just about to rush in when he stopped short. Nalan Yunhai was clearly up to no good, and he might be ambushed if he headed in as well. Without any hesitation, he shot off toward the Vault of Scriptures.
Not too long later, Ye Sanshui returned with Xiao Nanfeng, Ku Jiang, Zhao Yuanjiao, and Hong Lie.
"Ye Sanshui, I hope you're not making things up," Hong Lie warned.
"Division Leader, I would never put my nephew's life in peril. Please aid me!" Ye Sanshui replied.
"I know what sort of person Nalan Yunhai is. He would never strike you or your nephew out of jealousy or envy. He isn't an idiot. Why would he do so within the Taiqing Immortal Sect?" Hong Lie still seemed reluctant to believe Ye Sanshui's claims.
"Perhaps Nalan Yunhai has never respected the sect," Ku Jiang replied calmly. "Xiao Nanfeng's far too popular for him to deal with within the sect, but no one cares about Ye Dafu and Ye Sanshui. If they were to vanish quietly, who would think to suspect him? Who would dare investigate the second prince of the Tianshu Empire?"
"Senior Brother, you're prejudiced against Nalan Yunhai," Hong Lie replied.
"Whether my prejudices are justified will be revealed within moments. This thundercloud formation was a gift from you to Nalan Yunhai, wasn't it? You should be able to activate it too. I hope you don't intend to send him word just because you're his master," Ku Jiang warned.
"I, Hong Lie, am a man of my principles. Would I do something so wretched?" Hong Lie retorted.
He murmured a mantra and reached out for one of the flags of the formation. The formation shuddered, and voices leaked out.
"Help! Don't hit me anymore!" Ye Dafu shouted.
"Are you going to tell us what we want to know, then?!" a cultivator thundered.
"Yes, yes, just beat me a little more and I'll tell you everything! Continue, continue—ah, no, stop, don't beat me anymore! Help!" Ye Dafu shouted.
"You dare trick us? You're asking to die, aren't you? Beat him! Use the lightning!" Nalan Yunhai roared.
A huge rumble spread throughout the valley.
"Ah, I can't stand it anymore! It's too comfortable! No, help! Save me!" Ye Dafu shouted.
Hong Lie's eyes widened. He reached out toward the formation. "Halt at once!"
The fog in the valley quickly dispersed, revealing a group of cultivators surrounding a pitch-black pillar. Ye Dafu had been strapped to the pillar and was surrounded by crackling lightning.
As the fog dispersed, everyone turned and looked at the source of the commotion. They blanched.
Even Ye Dafu stopped shouting.
Ku Jiang stood expressionless. Zhao Yuanjiao's gaze was cold, and Hong Lie's furious. Xiao Nanfeng and Ye Sanshui fell silent. Upon seeing Ye Dafu's expression, they immediately realized that he was enjoying the torture. They had come too early!
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