Chapter 75

Chapter 75: Are You Ye Fan?

***

After steeling her resolve, Lin Muyu gripped the wooden stick tightly and poured all the remaining spiritual energy in her body into it in one go.

“Xiaomu, evolve!”

Xiaomu: “?”

Although she didn’t quite understand what “evolve” meant, she currently only had two abilities anyway, either grow bigger, or…

In an instant, the rough outer bark on Xiaomu’s surface rapidly peeled away, revealing the smooth and resilient stick body within, as if it had undergone a complete transformation in a single moment.

“Then, grow bigger! Grow bigger! Give it a fierce poke!”

Lin Muyu seized the timing and aimed the rapidly enlarging wooden stick at the Golden Core stage corpse that was entangled in battle with Su Wanqing, using all her strength to thrust it forward with tremendous force.

This strike landed precisely at the moment when Su Wanqing had once again severed the corpse and the black energy had not yet completely stitched it back together.

The massive wooden stick struck the corpse hard. Even though the opponent was a Golden Core stage monster, it was stunned by this sudden attack, its movements briefly freezing.

“Now’s the time, freeze it!”

Lin Muyu felt the violent struggling transmitted through the wooden stick. Her small face flushed red as she shouted with all her might.

Su Wanqing didn’t hesitate for a moment. She immediately seized this fleeting opportunity and released all the cold energy she had concentrated to its limit within her body.

Ice-blue light erupted instantly. That previously invincible Golden Core stage monster was completely frozen in place, turned into an ice sculpture!

Seeing this, Lin Muyu quickly recalled Xiaomu.

This combination technique consumed far too much spiritual energy. She felt her meridians aching faintly.

Su Wanqing’s condition was equally poor. The prolonged high-intensity battle had long since depleted her spiritual energy.

Combined with the injuries she sustained from fighting the Golden Core stage monster head-on, her clothes had become somewhat tattered.

The delicate, snow-white skin exposed outside still showed several ghastly wounds, clearly scratched by the opponent’s sharp claws earlier.

“What should we do next, Xiaotao?”

Lin Muyu asked breathlessly. Although the stick felt light as a feather when she held Xiaomu normally, the recoil force from that moment of confronting the Golden Core stage monster still left her somewhat drained.

“The formation core is on its body. Find a way to locate it.”

Xiaotao’s voice came from within the bead.

Lin Muyu immediately relayed these words to Su Wanqing.

Su Wanqing frowned slightly, looking at the ice-sealed corpse with some difficulty.

Wrapped in thick ice, this formation core wouldn’t be easy to find.

Unless…

A flash of determination crossed Su Wanqing’s eyes. She immediately picked up her sword and stabbed it fiercely into the ice block at random.

She refused to believe that as long as the formation core was truly on this corpse, she wouldn’t hit it eventually!

…

Outside the village, Ye Fan gazed at the formation’s radiance shrouding the village sky, and a nameless unease suddenly rose in his heart:

“They… won’t escape, will they?”

“Hehe, don’t worry.”

Elder Feng laughed sinisterly, his tone filled with certainty.

“This is an impregnable spiritual energy cage, plus a Golden Core stage undead formation core standing guard. With just Su Wanqing at the peak of Foundation Establishment stage, how could she possibly escape?”

As for Lin Muyu at the Qi Refining stage, he didn’t take her seriously at all.

But just as his words fell, the previously stable formation suddenly began fluctuating violently, and an indescribable unease instantly swept over both men’s hearts.

Sure enough, after a burst of violent energy impact, the formation’s radiance covering the village actually receded like a tide and completely dissipated.

“Elder Feng, this… what’s happening?”

Ye Fan stared blankly at the scene before him, his face filled with disbelief.

“How is this possible?!”

Elder Feng also cried out in shock.

Although this formation was a weakened imitation he had created, its power was definitely not to be underestimated.

It was absolutely not something a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator could easily break.

Moreover, he had already thoroughly investigated, the two people trapped in the formation didn’t understand formations at all, and couldn’t possibly even find the location of the formation core!

“Since things have come to this, let’s go see what’s happening!”

Elder Feng’s voice instantly became extremely cold, carrying an unquestionable command in his tone.

Ye Fan hesitated somewhat, instinctively taking a step back:

“I… I can’t beat Su Wanqing.”

He knew clearly in his heart that if Su Wanqing and Lin Muyu discovered that he was the mastermind behind this, he could forget about ever returning to Qinglan Sect.

“Fool!”

Elder Feng scolded with disappointment.

“They’ve been trapped in the formation for so long, their spiritual energy must be mostly depleted. Su Wanqing’s strength has definitely been weakened by far more than just a little. This is the perfect opportunity for you to capture them!”

Ye Fan fell silent for a moment, his heart torn between conflicting thoughts.

Risk often comes with opportunity, either seek wealth through danger, or play it safe and look for another chance.

“Let’s do it!”

Ye Fan steeled his heart, a flash of ruthlessness crossing his eyes.

How could one reach the peak of the cultivation world without courage?

He quickly pulled out a mask from his storage pouch and put it on, properly concealing his features, then touched his toe to the ground and rushed toward the village at extreme speed.

Just as he approached the village entrance, he happened to encounter Lin Muyu and Su Wanqing supporting each other as they walked out.

Su Wanqing was clearly at the end of her rope. The prolonged fierce battle had exhausted her spiritual power, and even her steps were somewhat unsteady.

Lin Muyu wasn’t in much better condition either. Her small face was pale, her breathing rapid, clearly having expended considerable mental energy as well.

“Hehehe… Two beautiful young ladies, it looks like you need help?”

Ye Fan looked at the scene before him and felt delighted. He deliberately lowered his voice, making it sound hoarse and unfamiliar.

“Who’s there?”

Su Wanqing’s whole body tensed. She forced her trembling arms to grip her long sword tightly, pointing the blade directly at the masked figure before her, her eyes full of vigilance.

Lin Muyu was also startled by this suddenly appearing figure and instinctively shrank behind Su Wanqing.

But after calming herself and looking at the familiar silhouette of the person, a thought suddenly popped into her mind.

This person’s build, why did it look somewhat familiar?

“Who I am, you need not know.”

The masked figure stepped closer, his tone carrying undisguised greed.

“You only need to know that surrendering obediently will spare you some suffering.”

Seeing Su Wanqing in such a weakened state, Ye Fan’s heart completely settled.

He knew his opportunity had come.

“Are you… Ye Fan?!”

Lin Muyu suddenly spoke up. Her voice wasn’t loud, but it was like a spark thrown into a powder keg, instantly exploding in the hearts of the two confronting figures.

“How could I possibly be Ye Fan…”

Ye Fan’s heart jumped in alarm, and he instinctively defended himself, but this panicked tone only made Lin Muyu’s guess more certain.

In her previous life as a teacher, she had been extremely sensitive to students’ builds, tones, and even subtle habits.

The information hidden behind these details allowed her to understand students more precisely.

And as an important male lead in this book, Lin Muyu had previously observed Ye Fan in secret.

So even though he wore a mask and lowered his voice, the similar height, the slight shoulder sway when walking, and some unconscious small gestures when speaking, none of these could fool anyone.

With Lin Muyu’s words piercing through the truth, Su Wanqing also instantly realized.

She carefully examined the masked figure before her, and the more she looked, the more she felt that build and aura were extremely similar to Ye Fan.

So she immediately said coldly:

“Ye Fan, how dare you attack fellow sect members?”