Chapter 22: Conflict

In the pitch-black cave, a cultivator from the Wu family was limping forward, feeling his way through the darkness. After walking dozens of yards, he passed through a section of the cavern paved with the bones of demonic beasts. Suddenly, a faint blue light appeared ahead; thinking he had found the exit, he hurriedly quickened his pace.

"A Water Spirit Fruit! Haha, I never imagined there would be a Water Spirit Fruit tree in a place like this. I've struck it rich!"

Wu Ziyuan looked at the Water Spirit Fruit tree before him, which was emitting a dazzling blue glow, his face filled with excitement. He failed to notice that not far away in the darkness, a figure was slowly approaching him.

"Who is it!"

"Fellow Daoist Wu, it's me. I am Du Yucheng of the Du family. Keep your voice down; this seems to be a demonic beast's lair."

A figure slowly emerged from the darkness, his face full of panic. He was a cultivator from the Du family.

"Oh, it's Brother Du. You gave me a fright."

Seeing that Du Yucheng's injuries were no better than his own—looking equally disheveled with a large smear of mud on his face—Wu Ziyuan found the sight somewhat amusing.

He had seen this man in the forest yesterday. The man was about his age, around thirty, making him a young cultivator of this generation. However, his cultivation was only at the fifth level of Qi Refinement, meaning he was not highly valued in the eyes of the Du family, far less than Wu Ziyuan's status in the Wu family.

In Wu Ziyuan's eyes, Du Yucheng's abilities were mediocre and his cultivation was inferior, so he gradually lowered his guard and sheathed his flying sword.

Speaking of which, these two and Song Qingming were indeed unlucky. While the three of them were collecting demonic beast materials by the pond, they were too close to the center of the water. Before they could react, they were all swept into a vortex created by the Black-Feathered Python and pulled into its cave.

Among the three, Song Qingming had landed closer to the cave entrance and quickly found the exit. However, these two had landed too far from the entrance and, stumbling in the wrong direction, had wandered into the Black-Feathered Python's lair. Finding this Water Spirit Fruit tree was a stroke of pure coincidence.

"Fellow Daoist Wu, this indeed looks like a Water Spirit Fruit tree. It's a pity that these fruits won't be ripe for at least another hundred years. If we pick them now, they won't even sell for a single spirit stone. They are useless to us; what a shame," Du Yucheng said, letting out a regretful sigh.

Upon hearing this, Wu Ziyuan's eyes darted around before he spoke, "Brother Du, you are mistaken. Although these fruits are useless to us now, this is a Grade 2 Spirit Fruit tree, which is incredibly valuable. As long as we can make it back alive and report this to our families, we will surely receive a significant reward, wouldn't you agree?"

A smile played on Wu Ziyuan's face as he spoke, as if he were already envisioning the scene of himself earning merit and receiving rewards from his clan, just as he had before. Once he left and informed his family, the Clan Leader would surely think more highly of him, allowing him to obtain even more cultivation resources.

Du Yucheng opened his mouth, thought for a moment, and then, as if suddenly realizing something, he lightly tapped his head and nodded. "Brother Wu is right. Why didn't I think of that just now? You truly are brilliant."

Seeing that Du Yucheng did not object, Wu Ziyuan continued, "However, this place is extremely dangerous. I don't know what kind of demonic beast swept us in here just now, but its supernatural powers must be immense. We should focus on finding a way to escape first."

"After I was swept in, I stayed in this vicinity. This cave system is full of tunnels, and I haven't found an exit. Brother Du, you are clever; tell me, which way should we go?" Du Yucheng said with a look of simple-minded honesty.

Wu Ziyuan thought for a moment and then added, "When I was caught in the vortex, I thought I saw another person being swept in with us. Brother Du, did you see this person?"

Du Yucheng lowered his head in thought, then suddenly said loudly

"That's right, Brother Wu! I just found a corpse in a cave ahead. It looked like someone from your family. I'm not sure if he was swept in with us."

"Which member of my family was it? Do you know? Quick, take me to see!" Wu Ziyuan asked nervously.

"I was startled by the corpse just now and didn't get close enough to look closely. I only saw that his clothing was similar to yours, so he should be from your family. Don't worry, the body is in a cave not far ahead. I'll lead you there now."

Du Yucheng led Wu Ziyuan dozens of steps deeper into the cave, winding around into a cavern. Sure enough, a corpse appeared not far ahead. Du Yucheng ran toward it and shouted loudly, "Brother Wu, this person seems to be your Clan Leader!"

"The Clan Leader... how could this be..." Upon hearing this, Wu Ziyuan fell into a panic and ran after him.

When Wu Ziyuan reached Du Yucheng's side and looked, he saw a corpse on the ground that consisted only of the upper half of a body. Taking a step closer to inspect it, he realized something was wrong. The person was clearly wearing the silver dharma robes unique to the Liu family. Just as he was about to turn back and question Du Yucheng, a bright green dagger pierced through his back and out his chest.

"Du Yucheng, you... why... why would you do this?"

Du Yucheng shed his honest persona, revealing a sinister smile.

"Hmph, a Water Spirit Fruit tree, and you actually thought of informing your family? What could the Wu family give you? Toss you a few dozen spirit stones like you're a dog? You fool, do you even know the true value of this tree?"

"If I take the news of this tree directly to the Xiaoyao Sect, joining them in the future will be no problem at all. I might even be able to exchange it for a Foundation Establishment Pill immediately. Someone as short-sighted as you doesn't deserve to share this with me."

"Fellow Daoist Du, don't kill me! I am willing to swear a blood oath. Once I get out, I will never reveal what happened today. I'll act as if I was never here!" Wu Ziyuan pleaded desperately, his face filled with terror.

"Brother Wu, don't you understand? As long as you are alive, you are a threat to me. I have never liked being threatened." Du Yucheng sneered, a ruthless expression crossing his face as he kicked Wu Ziyuan to the ground once more.

"Du Yucheng, do you really have to be this malicious? If you kill me, aren't you afraid of my Wu family finding out?"

"Malicious? Haha! Has the cultivation world not always been this way? Even if your surname were Du, I would do the same. As long as I can achieve Foundation Establishment, whether it's the Wu family or the Du family, I can trample them all under my feet! Hahahaha!"

Wu Ziyuan struggled on the ground in despair, seemingly trying to stand up. Just as he was about to rise, a cold flash of light sliced across his throat. Wu Ziyuan's body fell back down, unwillingly, and went still.

"That even a fool like you can cultivate faster than me... Heaven truly is unfair."

After being swept into the cave, Du Yucheng had happened to land in this exact spot. He had immediately discovered the corpse of the Liu family elder. After secretly taking the elder's storage bag, he had stumbled upon the Water Spirit Fruit tree a step ahead of Wu Ziyuan.

Upon seeing the tree, he was utterly shocked. He had planned to leave the area and go straight to the Xiaoyao Sect to exchange the tree for whatever he desired.

Just as he was about to leave, he heard the footsteps of Wu Ziyuan approaching and had no choice but to hide in the dark depths of the cave.

Seeing that only Wu Ziyuan had arrived, and knowing he had found the tree, Du Yucheng's murderous intent rose. He had intended to use the dim light of the cave to slowly approach and ambush him, but he hadn't expected Wu Ziyuan's cultivation to be slightly higher; Wu Ziyuan had detected him just as he was getting close.

Du Yucheng's injuries were actually not serious; his disheveled appearance just now had been partly feigned. Although Wu Ziyuan's injuries were heavier than his own at the time, Du Yucheng had not acted recklessly. Instead, he chose to play along. His cultivation was only at the fifth level of Qi Refinement, and facing Wu Ziyuan at the sixth level, even with a sneak attack, he wasn't certain he could win.

Only after lowering Wu Ziyuan's guard did he devise this plan to kill him here.

When they entered the cave, Du Yucheng pretended to lead the way, using the Liu family elder's corpse to make Wu Ziyuan believe his own Clan Leader was there, causing him to lose his composure. Then, Du Yucheng struck him from behind.

Looking at the corpse on the ground, Du Yucheng let out a few soft, cold laughs. Once he confirmed Wu Ziyuan was dead, he snatched the storage bag from his body and vanished into the darkness of the cave.

An incense stick's time later,

A massive black python, four or five yards long, flew back from the distance toward the pond. After circling the water a few times, the giant serpent let out several thunderous roars toward the pile of demonic beast bones on the shore, before diving into the water with a massive splash.

Fortunately, the Black-Feathered Python had been preoccupied with the Water Spirit Fruit tree in the cave and had not pursued the group relentlessly; it had only chased them for about ten miles before returning to the pond. Most people, including Liu Tianlong, had escaped with their lives, though a few unlucky Liu family cultivators had been swallowed by the python.

The Liu family had suffered heavy losses in this battle. The Clan Leader, Liu Tianlong, was seriously injured, and two late-stage Qi Refinement elders had died in the beast's cave while covering his escape. After the Black-Feathered Python reached the shore, it ignored the other families and pursued the Liu family relentlessly, causing them to lose several mid-stage Qi Refinement cultivators along the way.

The losses of the other three families were relatively minor, though each had one cultivator swept into the pond whose fate remained unknown.

(End of Chapter)