Chapter 231 - 174: Why Are You Forcing Me?

Even though he had braced himself for the worst-case scenario, Zou Feng still nearly burst out cursing when he actually saw Yuwen Boxi’s name appear.

In truth, when he thought about it, no matter what Yuwen Boxi’s reputation had been before, raising a brain-dead idiot like Yuwen Shuo who ran amok was enough to completely ruin it.

Besides, people change. It was entirely possible that Yuwen Boxi had grown more fatuous with age.

But the appearance of Yuwen Boxi’s name wasn’t the end of it.

A moment later, another significant name slowly materialized.

Zhang Yinxiu.

Zou Feng was no stranger to this name. The only person whose name would appear alongside Yuwen Boxi’s had to be Zhang Yinxiu, the Marshal of the Cheetah Camp.

Of the two, Yuwen Boxi was undoubtedly a Fourth Grade Expert, while Zhang Yinxiu was a battle-hardened warrior at the Peak of Fifth Grade.

The thought of these two, plus the forces they could mobilize, was enough to give Zou Feng a massive headache.

And this was only the beginning. If he clashed with them and became their open enemy, there was still a General Level figure in Yuan Guang County...

But it was useless to worry about that now. Things had already reached this point. He had to rush back to Yuan Guang County even faster and send those two to their graves.

After all, he couldn’t afford a long, drawn-out fight with them. He could go into hiding himself, but the Hongxing Gang and his master’s family would be completely wiped out.

Furthermore, Yuwen Boxi was a high-ranking official of the Great Yan Dynasty. If a desperate search for Zou Feng yielded no results, there was no guarantee he wouldn’t use the Royal Family’s power to locate him with some Profound Mysterious Techniques that were currently beyond his comprehension.

So, simply hiding might not work for very long.

’Tsk, looks like there’s no avoiding becoming a rebel this time.’

’If the old Emperor ends up on my list one day, that would be the ultimate flex...’

But it was pointless to dwell on such things now. He had to make the most of his time and hurry back at a much faster pace.

In truth, while he and Tian Yun had been traveling quickly these past few days, they hadn’t been moving at their absolute top speed.

Whenever they came across a place suitable for Cultivation, like a Chaotic Burial Mound, they would usually stop to train for a while before moving on.

But for the rest of the journey, they clearly couldn’t afford to be so leisurely.

"Zou Lang, what’s wrong?"

Tian Yun didn’t know that Yuwen Boxi had now turned his attention to avenging his moronic son.

Pressing herself against Zou Feng’s back, she habitually activated "Thunderous Roar," intending to start round two.

He couldn’t very well explain the existence of the List of Gods to Tian Yun, so Zou Feng could only say, "Sister Yun, I have a bad feeling. I’m afraid Yuwen Boxi has already figured out we’re connected to Yuwen Shuo’s death!"

Tian Yun froze. She had wanted to ask Zou Feng if he was just worrying over nothing.

But when she saw how genuinely anxious he looked, she held her tongue.

Having cultivated to the Fifth Grade Realm, it wasn’t so strange to have a mysterious intuition that was hard to put into words.

Besides, Tian Yun couldn’t bear the thought of abandoning her Heart Meeting Martial Arts Hall either.

"Sister Yun, let’s not stop at an inn tonight," Zou Feng continued. "We need to keep moving. The priority is to get back as soon as possible."

Tian Yun had no objections. She nodded and said, "Alright, I’ll follow your lead!"

With that, she got out of bed, dressed, and started packing.

For the rest of their journey, the two would no longer stay at inns, and things like Cultivation were temporarily put on hold.

They would only stop to meditate and rest for an hour or two when they absolutely had to.

They finished packing quickly. But when they pushed open the door and stepped out, they saw three uninvited guests in the inn’s main hall.

It was a man and two women, all dressed in matching yellow and white Martial Attire.

Though the three of them didn’t look very old, a single glance was all it took for Zou Feng to confirm that they were all in the Gang Qi Realm.

They were also clearly from a Major Sect.

With the dawn of this chaotic era, it was normal to see Gang Qi Realm practitioners out and about.

Conversely, anyone who wasn’t in the Gang Qi Realm yet dared to come to this Deserted Mountain Inn probably wouldn’t even know what hit them.

Tian Yun, however, was more worldly. She recognized their origins at a glance from their clothing.

"They’re disciples of the Xuanhuang Sect!"

Tian Yun had mentioned this Sect, the Xuanhuang Sect, during a casual chat with Zou Feng before.

So Zou Feng had a vague recollection of it.

This Sect was located in the region where the Southern Border met the Central Plains. While its overall strength couldn’t match the Celestial Essence Sword Sect, it was still quite formidable.

They regarded most of the Sects in the Southern Border as Evil Sects and often engaged in acts of "vanquishing demons and slaying devils."

Now that true Evil Cultivators were appearing frequently and causing havoc everywhere, these Xuanhuang Sect disciples were most likely here to do just that.

At that moment, the three of them also noticed Zou Feng and Tian Yun.

The man in the lead sized up Zou Feng for a moment before saying with a smirk, "Innkeeper, didn’t you say you haven’t seen any Evil Cultivators around? Then how do you explain the one staying right here in your establishment?"

The fact that he could tell at a glance that Zou Feng didn’t practice a Righteous Sect’s Cultivation Skill, coupled with his provocative tone, proved that this man was at least in the Fifth Grade Realm. Otherwise, he would never dare to be so arrogant.

This person was none other than Bai Kaizhi, a fairly well-known Elite Disciple of the Xuanhuang Sect.

Before Zou Feng could say a word, one of the women beside Bai Kaizhi asked curiously, "Brother Bai, how can you tell he’s an Evil Cultivator?"

Hearing him addressed as Brother Bai, Tian Yun reacted instantly, quickly sending a mental message to Zou Feng. "Zou Lang, since his surname is Bai, he must be Bai Kaizhi of the Xuanhuang Sect."

"Rumor has it he despises Evil Cultivators. He’s known to kill at the slightest disagreement, regardless of whether they’ve actually committed any heinous crimes..."