Chapter 1516: Chapter 1516: Suicide Squad
In the end, the cultivator at the Emergence Stage was left to Qu Jianlei and Xiao Meng.
There was no helping it; the two Golden Core experts were truly embarrassed to take on three minor Qi cultivators, so they could only trouble Feng Jun.
Although Mountain Master Feng was also taking advantage of the weak, he was at the Emergence Stage, so dealing with those at the Qi Refinement Realm wasn’t too disgraceful.
Feng Jun did not underestimate these three Qi Refinement disciples—like a lion hunting a rabbit, he used his full strength.
At the moment Qu Jianlei made his move, Feng Jun instantly released three Divine Consciousness Spikes, which was one of his strongest attack methods.
Two of the minor Qi cultivators rolled and fell, while the third one only staggered, seemingly impacted, but not severely—sure enough, since they were on a suicide mission, their equipment must be excellent.
However, this impact was enough for Feng Jun to act. In the next moment, he released the Immortal Binding Rope, lunged forward, and knocked this person unconscious.
When Feng Jun succeeded, Qu Jianlei had also achieved success—two Golden Core experts ambushing one Emergence Stage cultivator; if they couldn’t quickly seize them, it would be the biggest joke.
But no matter how careful the three of them were, the spiritual energy fluctuations could not be concealed, so they quickly left.
Xiao Meng suggested that there was a hiding place of the Crimson Phoenix Sect here, and they could hide there, but it was unsurprisingly rejected by Feng Jun.
The four Yinsha disciples were all captured alive, and Feng Jun suggested that they could find a secluded place to use a Soul-searching Talisman.
However, Qu Jianlei disagreed; he believed that the disciples sent out at times like these might not only resist the Soul-searching secret technique but also trigger considerable reactions, "What if it attracts someone? It’s better to leave the Fang Market."
Feng Jun also wanted to leave the Fang Market, but he was reluctant to keep troubling Xiao Meng. However, Master Xiaomeng expressed that it was no bother, so after sending the two out, she took the Transfer Matrix Plate and left through a hidden path.
She had a secret communication method with Qu Jianlei, and soon she flew over two thousand miles to find the two of them.
Feng Jun had already identified the identities of the four individuals, and he even had some connections with two of them.
One of them was at the initial stage of the Emergence Stage, surprisingly, the disciple of Master Hanji.
It had been practically confirmed by the Yinsha Sect that Master Hanji was dead and not missing, so his disciple was immediately affected. Those with strong combat strength managed better, but this one with weaker combat strength and lower cultivation level was having a hard time recently.
Being assigned to the annex of the Rong Mountain Square Market was already telling enough.
Nevertheless, this person was strong-willed—or perhaps couldn’t accept such a stark contrast—so after arriving, he sought to earn some merits.
As a result, he ended up in the current situation.
Qu Jianlei, however, had a rather good impression of him, "There are only a Teleportation Talisman and Defense Talisman in the Storage Bag, nothing else... He had the conviction to die, so let me search his soul first."
"Be careful," Feng Jun handed over a Soul-searching Talisman, "Don’t directly search, use a Talisman, in case there’s a scheme."
Qu Jianlei had encountered many ghosts and spirits, paying no attention to his own image. He nodded with a smile, "Indeed, that’s how it should be."
It turned out that Feng Jun’s suggestion was correct. Once the Emergence Stage cultivator encountered a soul search, he self-destructed—not just his head, but his entire body blew up.
The other related person was only at the High Tier of Qi Refinement, but he was a family member of Master Hanpo, and strictly speaking, his ancestor and Master Hanpo shared the same father, so he usually fared well in Yinsha.
However, not all second generation were greedy for life and afraid of death. He disliked others mentioning his identity, and this time, he volunteered to guard the annex on the outskirts of Rong Mountain.
Feng Jun wanted to search this person’s soul, but this time it was Qu Jianlei who stopped him, saying that there was likely something strange about this person, so he should be the one to conduct the soul search.
Sure enough, during the soul search, this person not only exploded but also released a black gas that directly invaded Qu Jianlei’s arm and began to spread upward.
"Yinsha tracking mark, huh?" Qu Jianlei sneered, as his arm began to swell slightly and redden. He casually pulled out a Talisman and slapped it onto his arm.
After applying the Talisman, the black mark twisted a few times, emitting a barely audible "pop" and turning into a wisp of blue smoke, from which a faint voice emerged, "Crimson Phoenix..."
Qu Jianlei was indifferent to the smoke and instead smiled at Feng Jun, "This kind of thing, it’s easier for us of the Crimson Phoenix to handle. If it had possessed you, it would have been difficult to exorcise."
Feng Jun blinked and curiously asked, "Master Qu, don’t you cultivate the Crimson Phoenix Technique?"
"Hmm?" Qu Jianlei was momentarily stunned, then smiled awkwardly, "This doesn’t require a Cultivation Technique. The Crimson Phoenix’s secret technique suffices. I’ve served the Crimson Phoenix long enough, learning a bit of secret arts isn’t an issue."
Feng Jun pondered and asked, "Is this tracking mark of his considered a curse technique?"
Qu Jianlei thought for a moment before answering, "It’s just a mark that can sense your position, it doesn’t have any other effects."
"I really have to thank you, Master Qu," Feng Jun smiled and clasped his hands, "I’m not afraid of him knowing, it was I who killed the person, but for him to be able to track me all the time would be too annoying... It’s a real bother for you to cover for me."
"I’m not covering for you," Qu Jianlei answered very honestly, "He won’t know it was me who did it. This is a secret technique developed by the Crimson Phoenix against the Yinsha tracking mark. He will only know that the mark was destroyed by Crimson Phoenix, but he won’t know who exactly..."
After a pause, he spoke proudly, "Besides, even if he knows, what can he do about it?"
Feng Jun was taken aback for a moment, then let out a bitter smile, "You two... the feud is really not a small one."
A total of four people were captured alive, but none of them could be soul-searched. These men, who came out tonight, were practically a suicide squad.
However, Qu Jianlei wasn’t concerned and spoke with a smile, "In the next two days, the Yinsha Annex won’t be at peace."
Feng Jun contemplated for a moment before asking, "Would attacking this annex directly cause any trouble?"
Qu Jianlei frowned and, after a moment of silence, replied, "The Fang Market, it’s the Fang Market. If they teleport a Golden Core over, it would be a disaster for ordinary people. The key is... Crimson Phoenix has not declared war on Yinsha."
The two sects indeed don’t get along, and fighting in private isn’t an issue. However, a battle at the Golden Core level appearing in the Fang Market can only be understood if it’s a formal declaration of war.
Feng Jun understood his concerns. In fact, he could understand the logic behind it, although he might not agree. Yet, cultural differences objectively exist, and some differences indeed seem to have their logic.
So he took a step back, "Then can you spread the word in advance that I’m going to attack this annex and hope that the people around would disperse? After all, I don’t want to harm innocents either."
"An individual attacking the annex of the Four Great Sects?" Xiao Meng, who had just arrived, laughed, their eyes gleaming, "The last person who said such a thing was Yang Wailai a thousand years ago, right? In nearly a thousand years, I haven’t heard of such a person again."
Yang Wailai’s surname is Yang, but his given name is unknown—perhaps someone knows his name, but it hasn’t been passed down. He wasn’t from the Kunhao Plane; he got caught in a spatial storm and drifted here, so everyone calls him Yang Wailai.
This person had extraordinary battle prowess, appearing at the sixth stage of the Emergence Stage, capable of defeating all those in the Emergence Stage, meaning he had the ability to slay Golden Core cultivators—after all, some in the Emergence Stage could indeed kill Golden Core cultivators beyond their level.
It’s said that the number of Golden Core cultivators he killed might not be more than Feng Jun, but he was extremely arrogant at the time, sweeping across the Four Sects and Five Platforms one by one, seeking nothing but the false reputation of being "invincible below the Golden Core."
Later, perhaps he was tricked by a Golden Core who didn’t like him, disappearing for ten years, and when he reappeared, he was still at the sixth Emergence Stage, specifically wanting to sweep the annexes of the Four Sects and Five Platforms.
He swept through the annexes of three sects and five platforms, finally stopping at the Taiqing Sub-Court. What exactly happened there, no one knows, and later on, people hadn’t heard of him again.
He was a fleeting talent, a genius that left an indelible impression. Later, some said they saw him at the Taiqing Sect, others claimed he was a figure of the Qinggang lineage, while some said he later cultivated to become a powerful Emergence Stage cultivator.
These things are unlikely to be verified, and indeed, no one knows who Yang Wailai truly was, but with his Emergence Sixth Stage cultivation, he swept through the Three Sects and Five Platforms annexes, making him a unique legend.
The Emergence Sixth Stage cultivation really isn’t high, and he hadn’t slain any high-stage Golden Core cultivators, but later, even the "Sword Lunatic," who cleaved a Golden Core Peak at the high Emergence stage, didn’t achieve a record of sweeping through the Three Sects and Five Platforms.
The Sword Lunatic wasn’t from the Four Sects and Five Platforms, originating from Guanquan Valley, considered to be of reputable origin. He swept through two sects and three platforms’ annexes, stopped at the Tianxin Platform, then went through a life-changing worldly trial. Upon condensing his infant and leaving, he said, "Sadly, I never got to meet Yang Wailai."
He was an iconic figure of his time, ultimately reaching the stage of condensing his infant, yet his regret was not meeting Yang Wailai.
Feng Jun, of course, also knew of Yang Wailai. He smiled and said, "I just don’t want to harm the innocent. How could I compare to a fierce person like Yang Wailai? He had a significant background, after all, didn’t he?"
After hearing about Yang Wailai’s deeds, he knew he was a cheat-like character, possibly having a backing—without backing, who would dare to think of sweeping the annexes of the Four Sects and Five Platforms at the sixth Emergence Stage?
The tales of young heroes bravely slaying evil dragons were not unheard of by him, but... in general, could it be possible?
A young hero without a decent father or mother is basically destined for a grim fate.
There’s a possibility for a loser to make a comeback—maybe his family has mines, but the chances for an ordinary person to make a comeback are too small.
Master Xiaomeng’s eyes twinkled, "Mountain Master Feng’s background shouldn’t be inferior to Yang Wailai’s, right?"
This was indeed true. After Feng Jun’s name became prominent in the Cultivation World, he repeatedly demonstrated astonishing feats, not to mention how many Golden Cores he trapped; his unfathomable deductions alone were enough to make one wildly imagine—this surely wasn’t an ordinary person.
Moreover, he opposed Yue Qing multiple times, arguing each time—this wasn’t knowledge you should possess.
Everyone basically concluded, he’s a visitor from another plane!