NOVEL WEB Ch. 71
Chapter 71: Arrogant True Disciple
Cultivation knew no passage of time, and in the blink of an eye, three days had passed.
During these three days, Gu Fan took some time to return to the Zombie World.
He arranged for Nurse Xia Yan to lead a group of people to systematically incorporate all those bases under their control.
At the same time, he stationed a portion of the people at the Security Base, establishing it as a second branch base.
Each of the two bases accommodated over fifteen hundred people.
Nurse Xia Yan dispersed all the members from the various bases, inserting a number of experienced personnel among them as informants.
By dividing the groups, she aimed to ensure a stable situation within the bases.
Meanwhile, Gu Fan had not been idle during this period.
While urging the Evil Lotus to absorb flesh and blood, he also threw all the White Bone Pills into the White Bone Banner for refinement.
After approximately five days, the White Bone Banner evolved twice in succession.
It could now directly summon ten thousand White Bone Warriors at once, each possessing the strength of the Spirit Sea Realm!
If not for the fact that these entities lacked intelligence, Gu Fan felt he could form his own sect.
Even the Heavenly Evil Sect likely did not have ten thousand Spirit Sea Realm disciples, right?
Now, the White Bone Banner was no longer a mere decoration.
As long as Gu Fan willed it, with a wave of his hand, over ten thousand Spirit Sea Realm White Bone Warriors would charge forth.
Just imagining that scene was enough to bring despair!
Under the backflow of the flesh and blood absorbed by the Evil Lotus, Gu Fan had also directly advanced by another level.
At present, he was at the second layer of the Primordial Yang Realm.
Thus, the three days had come to an end.
Gu Fan and Lin Yi arrived early at the mountain gate to await Zhu Yang’s arrival.
Upon meeting, Gu Fan was slightly surprised.
The aura of this brat Lin Yi had clearly risen significantly.
Had he advanced?
“Huh? You advanced again? Half-step Primordial Yang?”
Lin Yi immediately looked displeased, an expression of heart-wrenching frustration on his face.
“Brother Gu, listen to yourself. Does that even sound human? What do you mean ‘again’?”
“Look at you. Just last month you were still at the Spirit Sea Realm, and now you’re already at Primordial Yang!”
Gu Fan chuckled awkwardly.
Hearing Lin Yi say it like that, it did seem true.
At this moment, a gust of wind howled from afar, and in a flash, Zhu Yang appeared before the two.
“Greetings, Master!”
“Greetings, Elder!”
Zhu Yang waved his wide sleeve.
“Alright, let’s depart.”
With that, Zhu Yang took the lead and soared into the sky, with Gu Fan and Lin Yi following behind.
On the way, Lin Yi took the initiative to speak.
“Master, they say this Little Min Mountain is in the central region of the continent. Why don’t you tell us if there are any heavenly treasures there?”
At the mention of treasures, Gu Fan clearly perked up and also looked at Zhu Yang.
“Hehe, this Little Min Mountain was named by a powerful figure from ten thousand years ago. It’s said this senior was also a renowned figure in the Upper Realm.”
“As for this region, there are indeed heavenly treasures. Among them, the most precious is said to be the Heavenly Jian Wood. It is rumored to be a part of the World Tree that fell into our realm, and after hitting the ground, it scattered its seeds.”
“Heavenly Jian Wood? Is it a type of tree?”
Zhu Yang stroked his white beard and smiled:
“It’s actually just a sapling. There's hardly a chance for it to grow into a towering tree. Its greatest use lies in strengthening the body. After absorption, a cultivator's body would contain a trace of Jian Wood Qi. When fighting others, it can speed up recovery.”
Gu Fan’s eyes lit up.
Good stuff!
Being able to strengthen the body was definitely good news for him.
He wasn’t sure about other cultivators in this world, but he personally had experienced the benefits of a strong physique.
Others relied on spiritual power during battles, but Gu Fan found that using his cultivation realm as the foundation, spiritual power as the engine, and then directly fighting with his physical body was truly effective.
The whole process wasted not a trace of spiritual power, and the power of his physique elevated his resilience and recovery to another level.
The only drawback was the lack of genuine long-range means. Against powerful enemies, he had to find a chance to get up close.
Just like in the games of his past life, most cultivators in this world were long-range mages. However, once someone like him, a warrior, got up close, they would usually be pounded to death within a few strikes.
Therefore, the Heavenly Jian Wood, which could enhance the physical body, was indeed a precious treasure for him.
As for long-range methods, he could learn them later when the opportunity arose.
The three chatted casually along the way, and after more than half a day, they finally arrived at an Immortal Boat.
Then they spent another two days aboard the Immortal Boat.
After disembarking, Zhu Yang pointed to a massive mountain range in the distance and said:
"This is Little Min Mountain!"
Gu Fan and Lin Yi both opened their mouths.
It took them a long time to close them again.
"This is ‘Little’ Min Mountain?"
"Haha, Little Min Mountain is just a name. Strictly speaking, this place is an entire mountain range. Let’s go, I’ll take you over!"
Within a valley at the entrance of the Little Min Mountain range.
This was the flattest area of the whole mountain range and the best place to enter the mountains.
At this moment, all the sect forces participating in the Competition for Upper Realm Slots had gathered here.
When Zhu Yang and the other two landed in the valley, over a dozen forces were already present.
Each group consciously maintained a certain distance from the others, as everyone here was a competitor.
"Master, why aren’t we going in directly? Are we waiting for something?"
"We’re waiting for everyone to arrive. Don’t rush. Let’s find a place to rest for now."
Gu Fan had no objections and followed Zhu Yang inside.
The appearance of the two also drew quite a bit of attention.
"Judging by their robes, they must be from the Heavenly Evil Sect!"
"So those two brats behind must be the infamous Demonic Path Twin Stars that have been making waves lately?"
"Hehe, they seem to have some ability, but who knows how much weight that title actually holds."
"They only killed a few so-called disciples from Righteous Path sects. If they had run into us from the Sacred Land, they’d have perished long ago!"
"When there are no tigers in the mountains, the monkeys become kings. Nothing but a bunch of clowns!"
"Well said. We from the Sacred Land have been hidden for a long time. This is the perfect chance to show the world what true prodigies are!"
Lin Yi pouted upon hearing this.
"Can’t wait for this to start so I can kill them all!"
Gu Fan, on the other hand, smiled.
"Don’t be hasty. If we scare them into hiding, it’ll be annoying."
"True. It’ll be just like that time during the Autumn Wild Hunt. Best if they line up to come find us."
Their exchange made Zhu Yang’s eyelid twitch involuntarily.
Not long after, Zhu Yang led the two of them to a station where another group of three was camped.
One of them stood up, clearly also an elder.
"Elder Zhu!"
"Elder Lin, are these two the sect’s True Disciples?"
At this moment, the other two disciples immediately stood up and saluted Zhu Yang.
"Disciple Sun Zhen (Cao Xin) greets Elder Zhu!"
Zhu Yang nodded politely. These True Disciples were the future backbone of the sect, and there was no need to be overly stern.
"These two are Gu Fan and Lin Yi from the Inner Sect. When the time comes, the four of you will enter together. This time, the Competition for Upper Realm Slots will be led by Gu Fan and Lin Yi."
Elder Lin followed up:
"Indeed. Don’t forget, your goal isn’t necessarily to reach the Upper Realm. Preserving your lives takes precedence in times of danger!"
Sun Zhen and Cao Xin showed a slight trace of displeasure between their brows, but still saluted and said:
"Disciple understands!"
Seeing this, Elder Lin breathed a sigh of relief.
The Heavenly Evil Sect’s True Disciples usually lacked real battle experience, so coming to a place like this to compete was practically a death sentence.
But now, with these two killing machines from the Inner Sect around, he felt much more reassured.