Chapter 42: Headfirst into the Mud
Time flew by swiftly. Four months had passed since Ye Fan and Pang Bo began learning techniques at the Spirit Ruins Cliff. On this very day, the teaching elder once again bestowed medicinal liquid upon them.
The small, crystalline, and smooth jade bottle was no more than two inches tall, with a round base less than an inch in diameter. The medicinal liquid inside was truly limited.
This liquid was emerald green in color, carrying a distinct herbal fragrance. It possessed extraordinary effects for opening the Sea of Suffering, saving cultivators much time and energy. It was said that this liquid was an essence extracted from a hundred types of herbs, equivalent to the vital energy hidden within the Wheel of Life of a human body, and was called Hundred Herbs Liquid.
"Swish"
The teaching elder on the stone cliff transformed into a rainbow of divine light, soaring into the sky, and vanished into the depths of the Spirit Ruins Cave Heaven in the blink of an eye.
Ye Fan and Pang Bo put away their jade bottles and were about to leave, but at that moment, a fifteen or sixteen-year-old youth walked over. He blocked their path arrogantly and said, "Lend me two bottles of Hundred Herbs Liquid." With that, he reached out to grab them, giving the two no chance to refuse.
"Who are you, and why should I give it to you?" Pang Bo brushed his hand aside, standing there and glancing at him sideways.
Ye Fan noticed that the surrounding people all showed a hint of fear, backing away. Looking at the youth, who was clutching five or six bottles of Hundred Herbs Liquid in his hand, he immediately understood—this was a blatant act of extortion.
The fifteen or sixteen-year-old youth, having his right hand brushed aside, immediately darkened his face and said, "You dare glare at me?"
Pang Bo and Ye Fan didn't want to cause trouble. After all, everyone here was a cultivator, and they hadn't been at Spirit Ruins Cave Heaven for long. They didn't want to get into a conflict, so they stepped back a few paces, intending to leave.
"Trying to slip away without a word? Did I say you could?" The youth sneered, grabbing Pang Bo's wrist with one hand while reaching for the Hundred Herbs Liquid with the other.
Although Pang Bo wasn't as strong as Ye Fan now, compared to cultivators who hadn't mastered mystical techniques and divine abilities, he could be considered superhumanly strong. With a flick of his hand, he sent the youth stumbling backward, nearly falling to the ground.
The fifteen or sixteen-year-old youth, humiliated and enraged, shouted, "You dare lay a hand on me? I'll make sure you can't get out of bed for three months!"
Just then, several more fifteen or sixteen-year-old youths pushed through the crowd. The people around immediately showed fear, quickly retreating as if they recognized them. In their hands, each clutched six or seven bottles of Hundred Herbs Liquid, clearly stolen from others.
These youths quickly surrounded Ye Fan and Pang Bo. The youth whose face had been brushed earlier sneered, "Teach them a lesson. Make sure they can't get out of bed for three months."
"As expected, wherever there are people, there are grudges. Even cultivators aren't exempt from this." After saying this, Ye Fan said no more and simply walked forward. A youth jumped at him, only to be kicked away by Ye Fan.
Pang Bo also sneered, "Even robbing your own sect members—you're truly audacious. If we don't teach you a lesson, who knows what evil deeds you'll commit in the future." He struck even harder, slapping each youth aside with a single blow, sending them tumbling to the ground like rolling gourds.
"You dare hit me?" The youth who started the trouble, his cheek swollen, glared viciously at Ye Fan and Pang Bo. He quickly scrambled up and ran off into the distance, shouting, "Just wait."
Without being able to communicate with the divine power source within the Wheel of Life, cultivators were only slightly stronger than ordinary people. But compared to Ye Fan and Pang Bo, they were like commoners.
At that moment, in the distance, a fourteen or fifteen-year-old youth said to a young man in his twenties beside him, "Your brother is truly useless. I sent him to test them, and he ends up embarrassing himself like this."
The young man in his twenties felt awkward but was wary of the younger youth, showing a hint of deference as he asked, "These two don't seem like much. Is it worth testing them like this?"
"It was my grand-uncle who wanted to test them. I heard these two seem to have eaten some kind of divine medicine..." The fourteen or fifteen-year-old youth sneered disdainfully. "Otherwise, I wouldn't be interested in them at all!"
Hearing this, the young man in his twenties shuddered. He seemed very afraid of the youth's grand-uncle. "Even if there was a divine medicine, those two have already consumed it. What does your esteemed grand-uncle plan to do?"
"My grand-uncle thinks there should still be strong medicinal properties lingering in their bodies. Unfortunately, he only recently learned about these two, and he's extremely regretful."
"This..." The young man beside him felt a chill run down his spine. He hesitated, "Even if there are residual medicinal properties in their bodies, can they be extracted?"
"If they can't be directly extracted, can't we just bleed them?" The fourteen or fifteen-year-old youth's smile was cold, incongruous with his age. "At worst, we can just refine their bodies directly. I think... that's what my grand-uncle means."
The young man beside him felt a cold dread rise in his heart. That old man who refined medicine was always ruthless. As an elder of Spirit Ruins Cave Heaven, few dared to provoke him. Those two youths, now targeted as medicinal ingredients, would surely not survive.
The fourteen or fifteen-year-old youth spoke as if commanding a subordinate, "Your useless brother is coming over. Go with him to test those two, see what kind of physiques they have, and whether they're worth my grand-uncle using for medicine."
"Alright, I'll go right away."
Ye Fan and Pang Bo had already kept a low profile, but they were still being targeted. Unaware of this, they were just about to leave the crowd when they were blocked again.
This was a young man in his twenties, with faint light flowing on the surface of his body. It was clear he had already cultivated some mystical techniques and could use some divine abilities.
"Brother, you have to teach them a good lesson!" The youth who had started the trouble earlier glared viciously at Ye Fan and Pang Bo. The other youths around, seeing their backup had arrived, also shouted loudly.
"Break their hands and feet, throw them into the lotus pond ahead to feed the fish."
"Make them kneel and kowtow a thousand times."
...
The youths kept shouting, relying on their protector, constantly insulting and cursing Ye Fan and Pang Bo.
Ye Fan frowned. He wouldn't get angry over a few youths, but he felt something unusual was going on, as if someone was deliberately targeting them.
"Why did you beat my brother?" The young man's face was as dark as water as he stared at Ye Fan and Pang Bo.
"Which eye of yours saw me beat him?" Pang Bo's brows shot up. Things had gone too far to endure anymore. Even if they backed down and apologized, the other party would still deal with them harshly. He could clearly see they were just looking for an excuse.
"What exactly do you want?" Ye Fan asked directly.
"You beat my brother, so naturally I have to get even for him." The young man sneered, stepping forward step by step.
By now, a crowd had gathered, all watching from a distance. No one dared to step forward to mediate. The disciples under this cliff were mostly newcomers, all afraid of this young man whose body could radiate light.
"Break their legs and make them kneel there!"
"Throw them into the lake to feed the fish!"
The youths shouted again.
"Swish"
With a flash of light, the young man lunged forward like a ghost, incredibly fast. His palm, crystal-clear like jade, slashed like a blade toward Ye Fan's neck.
He didn't use his full strength, thinking this palm strike would be enough to knock Ye Fan down. But to his surprise, Ye Fan reacted quickly, sidestepping two paces and dodging naturally. He even reached out and grabbed the young man's hand with a "thump."
"Let go!"
Though surprised, the young man didn't think Ye Fan could threaten him. He tried to shake Ye Fan off. But things went against his expectations again. His fingers felt as if they were clamped in a vise, aching terribly, and he couldn't break free.
"Thump"
At that moment, Pang Bo struck, punching the young man hard in the back. The force was astonishing. The young man's body shook violently, and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
Grabbing the young man's hand, Ye Fan swung him around like a scarecrow and slammed him heavily to the ground.
"Thump"
Dust flew up, and the ground trembled. The faint light on the young man's body dissipated completely. He screamed, coughing up several mouthfuls of blood, his body convulsing.
Everyone around was stunned. They never expected Ye Fan to knock the young man down so cleanly and decisively.
It wasn't that the young man lacked strength—he had already cultivated some mystical techniques—but he never had a chance to use them. Ye Fan could now easily lift a boulder weighing several thousand jin with one arm, possessing the strength of a dragon or elephant. Such immense power could withstand even ordinary divine abilities and mystical techniques.
"You were the ones who started the trouble and provoked us. We were just defending ourselves, and yet you have the nerve to say we beat you? Fine, let's make it true." Pang Bo, furious, charged forward. The youths tried to run, but the crowd blocked them, and they couldn't escape quickly.
"Thump," "thump," "thump"...
Pang Bo struck repeatedly, kicking each youth back, then pinning them to the ground and slapping them hard, the sounds echoing without pause.
"What were you saying earlier? Break our hands and feet, throw us into the lotus pond to feed the fish. And what else? Make us kneel and kowtow a thousand times. Are you tired of living?!"
Pang Bo slapped them mercilessly, leaving their faces swollen and bruised like pig heads, crying out in agony.
"You haven't even cultivated a single feather of divine ability, and you want to act like bullies? You really don't know your place. If I don't teach you a proper lesson today, you'll think you're immortals!"
Pang Bo stood up and kicked them wildly. The youths on the ground kept groaning, but Pang Bo felt refreshed, the more he hit, the better he felt.
"Tell me, why are you targeting us?" On the other side, Ye Fan wasn't idle either. He kicked the young man hard, making him roll on the ground, convulsing, with blood at the corner of his mouth.
"If you don't talk, I'll throw you into the pond headfirst!" Ye Fan kicked him again. With his immense strength, he sent the young man flying horizontally for over ten meters.
Hearing this, Pang Bo's face lit up. "Great idea!" He crouched down, grabbed five or six youths with his immense strength, and headed toward the lotus pond.
"No, put us down!"
"Help! Murder!"
"Please, put us down!"
Pang Bo ignored them. He lifted them one by one and hurled them forcefully into the pond. The pond was full of mud. With Pang Bo's strength, each youth went in headfirst, stuck upside down in the mire.
"Don't kill anyone..." Ye Fan warned.
"Don't worry. These useless guys have already stepped onto the path of immortality. Even if they haven't mastered mystical techniques and divine abilities, their physiques are much stronger than ordinary people. They can hold their breath for at least half an hour."
"Will you talk or not? Do you want to go headfirst into the mud too?!" Ye Fan kicked the young man on the ground again.
Pang Bo strode over. "Just stick him in headfirst. Don't waste words. See if he talks in the end."
Seeing the young man still wouldn't speak, Ye Fan said no more. He lifted him and hurled him forward with force.
The crowd was utterly dumbfounded. What kind of divine strength was this? The pond was still forty or fifty meters away, yet Ye Fan threw a living person like a spear.
"Plop"
Indeed, the young man went in like a spear, straight and headfirst into the mud. Most of his body was buried, leaving only his calves kicking and struggling outside.
"Monstrous!"
"Where did this freak come from? He looks delicate and refined, only about eleven or twelve, but how does he have such strength?!"
...
The crowd was wide-eyed, then broke into murmurs. But everyone felt quite satisfied. Those arrogant fellows deserved such a lesson.
Suddenly, the crowd parted quickly, some stepping aside in fear. A fourteen or fifteen-year-old youth, his face as dark as water, slowly approached. Beside him followed several young men in their early twenties, with light flowing on their bodies.
"This is Elder Han's youngest grandson, named Han Feiyu..."
"His grand-uncle is also an elder, said to be a master of medicine refining."
"Shush, don't talk about him. Beware of trouble from your mouth!"
...
The fourteen or fifteen-year-old youth, Han Feiyu, approached with a dark face and said to Ye Fan and Pang Bo, "What do you think Spirit Ruins Cave Heaven is? Committing violence in public without restraint. Do you think you're enforcement elders?"
Ye Fan and Pang Bo ignored him, almost dismissively, turning to look at the lotus pond.
Han Feiyu's face grew even darker. He said to the four beside him, "Get them out of my sight!"
Ye Fan turned around and said, "Quite the big talk. So you've been pulling the strings all along. No need for words. Today, I'll stick you in headfirst too."
Hearing this, Han Feiyu's eyes shot out two cold glints. He muttered in a barely audible voice, "Looks like I'll have to send two corpses to my grand-uncle..."