Chapter 3: Hundred Miasma Peak

With these thoughts running through his mind, Fang Che commenced his cultivation.

The mysterious cultivation art that he had inherited was called the Boundless Sutra.

He opened the first page.

"Cultivation is just the beginning. There is no end to the path of power. I can set you on the path, but how far can you go? I await you on the other side of the vast heavens."

These were the words written on the first page.

"Who's to say I won't surpass you?" Fang Che chuckled to himself, then flipped over to the next page.

"The height of power is derived from the heavens, but there will come a point when even all of the infinite galaxies combined will lack the power to grant you. However, a boundless heart will open up boundless paths. Such is the essence of boundlessness!"

After that came the cultivation mantra.

Just a rough glance through the cultivation art told Fang Che that it was countless times superior to the cultivation arts that he had used in his past life, and he could hardly wait to begin.

He quickly sat down in a meditative posture and began to cultivate the first level of the Boundless Sutra.

The spirit power in his body was instantly activated and began flowing according to the route stipulated in the Boundless Sutra. All of a sudden, Fang Che felt his entire body heat up as countless yang-attribute spirit qi particles surged into his body

This rate of spirit power absorption was nothing short of astonishing to Fang Che.

After one full cycle of spirit power circulation, Fang Che felt a violent jolt run through his entire body, and his eyes involuntarily sprang open in a stunned manner.

Just like that, he had made the breakthrough from Warrior Disciple to Warrior.

It was true that he had countless cultivation experiences from his past life, and the bottleneck between the Warrior Disciple and Warrior Tiers was only the most rudimentary of cultivation obstacles, but he was still stunned at the ease with which the breakthrough had been made.

Is this Boundless Sutra really that amazing?

His brows then furrowed slightly as he fell into deep thought, and after some contemplation, he devoured an entire vial of the warrior academy Blood Qi Pills brought to him by Fang Qingyun in one go, following which he began channeling his cultivation art once again.

A ball of scorching energy began to take shape around him, and some time later, he had already progressed to become a second-rank Warrior.

After taking some time to consolidate his cultivation base, Fang Che opened his eyes as he mused to himself, "That cousin of mine really is a good and honest man."

The biggest pleasant surprise in all of this was that the Boundless Sutra was also able to subjugate the Five Spirit Parasite in his dantian!

He had a feeling that he could slowly refine the Five Spirit Parasite at any time if he so pleased.

Part of the spirit power in his dantian had already been converted into boundless true qi, and the Five Spirit Parasite was trembling in his dantian, clearly aware that this spirit power was capable of refining it.

Fang Che hurriedly withdrew his spirit power before taking a moment to comfort the terrified Five Spirit Parasite in his body.

This was his key to infiltrating the enemy ranks, so he couldn't allow it to die.

Having said that, wasn't it supposed to have been impossible to refine Five Spirit Parasites? Why was it that this Boundless Sutra could refine one so easily?

***

Meanwhile, in the Su Clan.

The news that Su Yue had returned immediately sparked an emergency meeting.

There were two primary topics of discussion during the meeting: Is it true? If so, who will be sent?

A verdict was quickly reached on the first question: It was definitely true.

The Unmatched Sword Monarch was a real historical figure that had possessed tremendous power.

"That kid doesn't know anything, and all he did was relay what he overheard. My guess is that Fang Wending was discussing the matter with his son, Fang Zhenghang, and they didn't think they had to worry about anyone overhearing them," an old man from the Su Clan declared with a confident look in his eyes. "Even if I had been in their place, I could easily see myself making the same oversight."

"Indeed," another old man chimed in agreement. "On top of that, Yue'er already has Fang Che wrapped around his finger, so he definitely wouldn't have lied."

"That little idiot is as dense as a brick!"

"I agree. Given that he thinks he was almost beaten to death by his cousin, he would only feel more alienated from the Fang Clan, making him even more reliant on Yue'er. Hence, the leads on the Unmatched Sword Monarch are definitely reliable. That sly bastard, Fang Wending, had us all fooled for so many years!"

"It seems like even the heavens are on our side. I bet that old fart would've never been able to imagine that this would be how his plot would be undone!"

Amid a chorus of triumphant laughter, the leader of the Su Clan, Su Yunhe, decided, "In that case, we need to act right away. Time is of the essence. Who should we send?"

The old man seated at the head of the table wore a cautious expression as he mused, "The Fang Clan has also sent out search parties on more than one occasion, but to no avail. I'm guessing that they never found the right place, and they almost most likely didn't possess the power required to venture too deep. Aren't there supposed to be countless poisonous creatures there, including even a Grandmaster Tier venomous python?"

"That makes sense. The Fang Clan doesn't possess the power to claim the prize, yet they still want to keep the secret to themselves. There's no way anyone would try to recruit helpers in this situation as that would only expose the secret."

Indeed, if the recruited allies were too weak, then they wouldn't be of any help, and if they were too powerful, then the Fang Clan would be usurped and have the inheritance taken from under their noses.

"In that case, I propose that we send a large search party, and all members must be able to hold their own."

"I think it would be safest if we all went."

"Should we wait for the envoy to return first?" someone asked.

"No!" everyone else rejected in unison.

"One he gets back, we'll have no say in the matter!"

"Alright, then let's assemble the search party right away!"

That night.

All of the Su Clan's elites adopted disguises and set out in full force, splitting up to exit the city in groups before reconvening in the wilderness outside the city, where they proceeded to race through the darkness like a speeding arrow.

***

That same night.

Fang Che packed up some things, then tucked away a cloth mask before making his way out of the small courtyard.

He was feeling a little concerned.

What if the Su Clan really did manage to clinch the "inheritance?"

"Where are you going, Young Master?"

He was stopped in his tracks at the entrance of the Fang Clan's estate.

"I'm going out to see a girl, of course. What else could I be going out for at night?" Fang Che scoffed with a roll of his eyes.

“......”

The guard at the gate stepped aside in silent sorrow and envy.

Fine! You go out on your date night while I'm stuck here on guard duty!

Fang Che strode out of the Fang Clan's estate before making his way toward the southern part of the city, quickly vanishing into the night.

***

An hour later.

The estate of a wealthy man outside the city had erupted into a state of turmoil.

The sound of thundering horse hooves was rapidly fading away into the distance, while a portly man scrambled to his feet as he yelled, "Thief! A thief has stolen my steed!"

***

Fang Che raced through the night on horseback like a black wraith.

His body was leaned forward, and he was adjusting his posture with each bounding step that the horse took. His bottom gently made contact with the horse's back before springing back up each time, and as a result, not only was his bodyweight not a burden on the horse, it was serving as a propulsion tool.

In his past life, he had been an outstanding equestrian, and his exceptional skills were on full display here as he darted into the night.

Target: the Hundred Miasma Peak.

As he raced along on horseback, he reached into the front of his own robe to pull out the cloth mask before tying it around his own face.

The mask was pressed tightly against his face by the rushing wind, leaving only his shimmering eyes exposed, flashing like a pair of stars in the night.

After eight hours of continuous riding, night had already transitioned into day, and he was around three hundred and fifty kilometers away from Green Wave City.

The horse was exhausted, and Fang Che dismounted by a pond, allowing the horse a drink and a rest.

"Thank you for taking me this far. If you know the way back, then go back on your own. If you don't, then you can wait for my return."

After parting ways with his first steed, Fang Che quickly stole another one and continued on his way.

Around a hundred and fifty kilometers later, he had already entered the mountains, and the terrain had become quite difficult to negotiate.

He was already nearing the outskirts of the Myriad Spirit Forest, and once again, he left his second horse at a stream at the foot of a mountain before darting into the dense forest.

Like a chameleon, he instantly vanished out of sight, determined to witness the demise of the Su Clan's search party with his own two eyes.

The Su Clan's search party had set off far earlier than he had, but they had to constantly stop to assess and confirm their position.

Hence, even with the headstart, the search party was still four hours behind Fang Che as they entered the Hundred Miasma Peak.

After taking a moment to ascertain his location, Fang Che swooped down from a mountain summit, gliding through the undergrowth in an extremely smooth manner while avoiding all of the sharp thorns.

He even had time to dig up a collection of medicinal herbs along the way, all of which he chopped to bits with a knife on a rock to produce a medicinal puree that was giving off a sharp odor.

He applied a small part of the concoction onto his own body, then carried the rest with him as he circled around to the back of the mountain.

Countless poisonous and venomous insects instantly scattered upon catching a whiff of the pungent concoction, granting Fang Che a smooth journey to a pond at the back of the mountain, which was concealed by dense shrubs.

He gently pulled away the shrubs hanging over the pond to reveal its dark green surface, then threw the rest of his medicinal concoction into the pond.

After that, he leaned against a large rock to wait.

He didn't have to wait long before the pond began to bubble and froth violently like a pot of boiling water.

It was as if the medicinal concoction had been a bunch of quicklime, and the entire pond quickly became extremely murky.

The nauseating stench was rapidly spreading through the entire pond, and within minutes, countless lethal water snakes and other strange creatures fled the pond in a frenzy, racing onto the shore before fleeing for their lives.

The stench was downright unbearable!

Around fifteen minutes later, a rotund crocodile darted out of the pond with an almighty splash before fleeing the scene, dry-retching uncontrollably as it did so.

Fang Che remained unmoved.

Around an hour later, there were no longer creatures emerging from the pond.

The water had turned clear, while the mud on the bottom had taken on a lifeless gray color.

He continued to remain still.

Several minutes later, a white flood dragon around the thickness of a walnut emerged from the water.

Its body was rather insubstantial in appearance, and it was a flood dragon that only possessed a spirit body, but it was already close to attaining a substantial one.

There was a radiant, golden horn on the flood dragon's head, and Fang Che smiled as he finally revealed himself and released his spirit pressure.

"Hello there," he greeted amicably.

In his past life, he had slain the Thousand Poison Scourge at this pond along with his battle pet, the Golden Horn Flood Dragon.

However, he had allowed its soul to flee into the pond as he had discovered that it was an extremely rare ultimate yin site, a place that was perfect for nurturing souls.

It was common knowledge that it was very difficult for soul bodies to survive without vessels, and he had decided to spare the Golden Horn Flood Dragon's soul to claim its soul body once it took shape.

Never had he imagined that the collection of the soul body would be delayed until another lifetime.

In a sense, this was like a reunion between old friends, and his spirit pressure was the trump card that he was relying on for this trip.

The Golden Horn Flood Dragon's spirit body instantly stiffened upon hearing Fang Che's voice, and as it sensed his familiar spirit pressure, it turned to him with a look of incredulity and despair in its eyes.

It was greeted by the sight of Fang Che's warm, smiling face, upon which it instantly erupted into sobs.

If the Golden Horn Flood Dragon had been in its complete state, then Fang Che wouldn't have made this trip at all.

However, in its spirit body form, Fang Che had nothing to fear.

It was still going to be quite powerful in this form, but he was confident in his ability to subdue it.

Sure enough, just his spirit pressure alone was enough to have the little guy quaking in its figurative boots.

"Don't be scared, I've come here to seek out your help."

Only after a lengthy period of reassurance was the Golden Horn Flood Dragon finally able to compose itself. It was still terrified, but it was able to suppress its fear.

Moments later, Fang Che leaped into the pond, while the Golden Horn Flood Dragon served as his guide.

From there, he was able to enter the belly of the mountain.

***

Meanwhile, the Su Clan's search party had also arrived.

They had set off with one hundred and twenty-four members, of which only ninety-six currently remained.

Su Yunhe wore a solemn expression as he remarked, "I didn't think this forest would be this perilous. It really is rife with lethal creatures."

"The sacrifices were all worth it now that we've finally arrived at our destination," said Elder Su Changying. "It's no surprise that this place is fraught with peril, considering the tremendous inheritance that it holds."

Right at this moment, the group of people that were scouting a cave up ahead let loose a collective chorus of agonized howls.

There were twenty to thirty of them, and all of them suddenly began rolling on the ground in a frantic panic.

A layer of golden ants had appeared on the ground. They were the size of peas, and it was as if they possessed bodies of steel, making it impossible to stomp them to death.

Many of them had already crawled onto the bodies of the search party members, and the layers of protective true qi over their bodies did nothing to ward off the ants, which were eagerly sinking their mandibles into their flesh.

A loud buzzing sound rang out as a cloud of ants spread their little wings and swarmed the search party, while a series of golden centipedes began to crawl out from underground, accompanied by a nest of venomous snakes, which sprang forth from the surrounding trees like racing arrows.

Countless poisonous critters were converging from all directions, blocking out the entire sky.

"Set down the repellant! Hurry!" Su Yunhe yelled in a panic.

The search party scrambled to coat the entire ground in a layer of repellant, and before long, thick piles of carcasses had taken shape around them.

Countless snakes were still writhing and squirming even with their bodies chopped to pieces.

By the time the crisis was finally averted, the search party had lost sixty-six more members, reducing the original one hundred and twenty-four to a mere thirty-six, and they had only just found the cave entrance, which was still shut at the moment.

On the other side of the thick stone gate, the Golden Horn Flood Dragon was vigorously releasing its spirit fluctuations, instructing the creatures outside to attack.

***

"Why are there so many of these things?" Su Yunhe exclaimed in shock and rage. "What kind of self-proclaimed monarch would resort to using these disgusting creatures to defend their inheritance?"

"In any case, we've finally arrived!" Su Changying said with a fervent expression. "All we have to do is open this gate, and our Su Clan will be set for a meteoric rise! We could even become a seventh-tier clan if we're lucky!"

"Let's break open this gate."

Su Yue was cowering behind several Warriors that had been tasked with protecting him, looking on with a horrified expression and a deathly pale complexion.

As a spoiled young master of the Su Clan, never had he witnessed anything so horrific before!

Those lifeless bodies and stripped down skeletons belonged to had once been family to him!

They had been living, breathing people just a moment ago, yet their lives had been stripped away from them with abruptness and brutality in equal measure.

For some reason, he suddenly recalled Fang Che's parting words to him.

"I'm glad I was able to at least repay you somewhat for everything you've done for me."

Why did those words suddenly carry such a sinister undertone?