"Take your dying breath while you can!"
Just as Zhang Fan prepared to pursue the advantage and join forces with Liu Mu to kill the opponent, he sensed Liu Mu’s aura rapidly weakening. The man was swaying precariously, unable to maintain stable flight, and suddenly plummeted, falling into a coma.
Zhang Fan, unclear of the reason, didn't hesitate. He rushed towards Liu Mu, catching him in his arms before he hit the ground.
Although Liu Mu was exceptionally handsome, Zhang Fan had never doubted his gender. However, as he held Liu Mu, his body couldn't help but tremble slightly. He experienced an illusion of holding soft jade, looking down at Liu Mu's delicate features and skin as white as snow. Considering Liu Mu had practiced the Wuxiang Divine Body, a bold guess formed in Zhang Fan's mind.
"Brother Zhang Fan, what are you doing?"
As if possessed, Zhang Fan slowly moved his hand towards Liu Mu's chest. Just as he was about to verify a certain suspicion in his heart, Liu Mu, lying in his arms, awoke. Their eyes met, and Zhang Fan saw a rare flash of panic in Liu Mu's gaze.
Liu Mu immediately struggled, breaking free from Zhang Fan's embrace. He stood in the air, tidied his clothes, and regained his usual elegant demeanor.
"Brother Zhang Fan, I didn't expect you to have such… proclivities. But this young master declares, I am a respectable person," Liu Mu said with a teasing smile.
"Holy crap!" Liu Mu's words caused a flicker of instability in Zhang Fan's Dao heart, and he couldn't help but curse. He then doubted himself, "Could I have been overthinking things?"
As Zhang Fan and Liu Mu were exchanging pleasantries, Sima Cang rapidly retreated, secretly letting out a sigh of relief.
When he had sensed Zhang Fan's intense killing intent earlier, half of Sima Cang's heart had turned cold. A berserk Liu Mu alone was enough to suppress him, and now with one arm lost, Zhang Fan and Liu Mu joining forces genuinely posed a possibility of killing him.
But Liu Mu’s sudden mishap had allowed him to escape this peril.
The moment Zhang Fan appeared, Fu Beichen and the others knew that destroying the Six Prince’s Mansion today was a futile dream. They immediately ceased their attacks. Bai Mengtian, Fu Beichen, and the one-armed Sima Cang stood together, gazing at Zhang Fan with chilling eyes.
"Only at the middle stage of the Ninth Tribulation realm, yet his mastery of the rules of swordsmanship and lightning is this profound. If he were to reach the Half-step Deity Transformation realm, perhaps no one in the Realm Heart Continent could restrain him. Our sects, which have been passed down for hundreds of thousands of years, would be destroyed at his hands," Fu Beichen said with a grim expression.
"With the unexpected events happening one after another today, and now that Zhang Fan has returned, relying on this powerful Lightning Sword Domain, we no longer hold an advantage in the number of Half-step Deity Transformation experts. It seems unlikely we can achieve our goal today," Sima Cang, having been thoroughly defeated by Liu Mu and Zhang Fan, had already begun to consider retreat.
"Even if he possesses the strength of a Half-step Deity Transformation, so what? How can a single person change the general tide?" Bai Mengtian said with some unwillingness. He was just one step away from destroying Mo Yan's physical body. Without a body, even if Mo Yan's Nascent Soul survived, his strength would drastically decline, posing no threat to them.
However, it was precisely Zhang Fan's Lightning Sword Domain that had suddenly descended, affecting him significantly and allowing Mo Yan to preserve his physical body.
"Ling Xiu, although your Six Prince’s Mansion has escaped this calamity today, it is merely a temporary reprieve. When we return, how will you resist us?" Fu Beichen shouted loudly.
"Even if you bring out all the old bones from your sects, so what? If you wish to fight, my Six Prince’s Mansion will see it through to the end!" Ling Xiu stood tall in the air, his words filled with heroic spirit.
"Everyone, there's no need for such trouble." Zhang Fan then joined Ling Xiu. He smiled at Fu Beichen and the others, saying, "Since you wish to kill me, I also wish to destroy you. Why don't we set a time and place? You bring out all your accumulated strength, and we will mobilize all our forces. Let's have a grand battle, swearing by the Heavenly Dao, to the death!"
"What do you all think?" Although Zhang Fan's smile was on his face, his eyes were filled with a domineering arrogance that looked down upon all heroes.
"Good! Good! Good! Such boldness!"
"Although I loathe you to the bone and wish to annihilate your very being, I must admit, I admire you."
Fu Beichen genuinely began to admire Zhang Fan at this moment. He glanced at Ling Xiu beside Zhang Fan. "Given our respective strengths, I have no reason to disagree. But do you dare?"
"Elder Zhang Fan's words represent the stance of my Six Prince’s Mansion!" Ling Xiu replied concisely.
"Very well. You name the time, and I will set the battlefield. Once both sides agree, we will make a vow with the Heavenly Dao as witness!"
"Three months from now!"
"The Fallen Immortal Mountain Range!"
"By the Heavenly Dao, we swear, to the death!"
…
Since the pact was made, Fu Beichen and the others no longer worried about Zhang Fan not daring to accept the challenge. After gathering their cultivators, they swiftly departed from the Panlong Mountain Range.
They had harbored concerns before. Even if they could muster enough forces to destroy the Six Prince’s Mansion, they might not be able to kill Zhang Fan. Given his monstrous growth rate, if he were to hide for a few decades and cultivate to the Half-step Deity Transformation realm, none of the three of them could stop him.
But Zhang Fan was too arrogant, daring to arrange a duel with them. With the binding of the Heavenly Dao oath, if Zhang Fan dared to refuse or flee from the battle, he would be utterly annihilated under the punishment of the Heavenly Dao!
However, after suffering setbacks against Zhang Fan multiple times, even if Fu Beichen and the others were fools, and even if Zhang Fan was merely a cultivator at the middle stage of the Ninth Tribulation realm, they dared not underestimate him any longer. They now regarded him as a great enemy who could threaten their lives and shake the foundations of their sects.
"In these three months, please do not waste the time, esteemed sirs. Since the battlefield has been chosen as the Fallen Immortal Mountain Range, we shall transform it into a terrain advantageous to our side!" Fu Beichen discussed with Bai Mengtian and Sima Cang before their respective forces separated.
"Upon returning, we must promptly summon all cultivators above the Sixth Tribulation realm from our sects. Except for a few who will guard the sects, all others will gather at the Fallen Immortal Mountain Range!"
…
After the cultivators from the three factions had completely retreated, Ling Xiu turned to Zhang Fan and asked, "Elder Zhang Fan, for the battle three months from now, what is your confidence level?"
Zhang Fan pondered for a moment and slowly replied, "Thirty percent!"
"Thirty percent?"
Ling Xiu nodded. Having thirty percent confidence already exceeded his expectations.
After all, the Flying Immortal Mansion, Black Sand Grotto-heaven, and Sun Shadow Grotto-heaven were all top-tier forces comparable to the Six Prince’s Mansion. The foundation of any one of them was not significantly weaker than the Six Prince’s Mansion. Now, with three forces united, if the Six Prince’s Mansion had to face them alone, Ling Xiu felt there would be no hope of victory. The only thing he could do was to take one more person with him to the grave before dying.
"Lord Ling Xiu may have misunderstood my meaning." Seeing Ling Xiu's expression, Zhang Fan couldn't help but smile. "I meant, I have a thirty percent chance of annihilating them all without losing a single soldier."
"Is that true?" A terrifying glint erupted in Ling Xiu's eyes. If anyone else had said this, he would have slapped them away. Was this a joke?
Even if the Canghai Palace were to intervene, they couldn't possibly annihilate those three top-tier forces without a single casualty.
But the one speaking was Zhang Fan, who, upon first arriving in the Realm Heart Continent, was merely an obscure Golden Core cultivator. Now, he had become famous throughout the Realm Heart Continent, and this was in less than ten years.
Zhang Fan had turned too many impossibilities into possibilities. Therefore, even though his words sounded too preposterous, Ling Xiu still held a sliver of hope.
"How will we do it?" Ling Xiu asked.
"I intend to refine a batch of immortal-grade spiritual pills, bestowing upon you all a grand fortune!"
…