Starting Cultivation During a Trip-Chapter 99 - 87: Young Zhang Fan! The Invincible Hidden Dragon (Part 2)
"I’ve seen you, seen you often. Back then, your face still had some flesh on it..." Xiong Sanqi opened his mouth and started chatting.
"You used to be more likable than you are now, especially when it came to killing..."
"Cough, cough, cough..."
Liu Fusheng’s throat really wasn’t feeling great, so he coughed a couple more times, neatly cutting off Xiong Sanqi’s words.
"Killing!?" Zhang Fan froze.
"Killing...after listening to so many stories, you’d always cling to uncle, making him accompany you." Xiong Sanqi picked up his bottle and gulped down the alcohol.
"See? I said not to tell so many gory stories, it’s unhealthy, bad for the mental development of minors." Liu Fusheng grinned.
At the same time, he shot a fierce look at Xiong Sanqi’s still-meaningful eyes.
"By the way, my dear nephew, do you still remember that...that, who was it..."
"Li Changgeng!?"
"Li Changgeng?" Zhang Fan chewed over the name, racking his brain, then shook his head; he had absolutely no impression of that name in his memory.
"Who’s that?"
"Oh, can’t remember? Doesn’t matter." Xiong Sanqi waved a hand: "It’s not that important."
"Come, come, have a drink—accompany your uncle for a couple more cups."
As he spoke, Xiong Sanqi fished two more bottles of liquor out of his bag.
Half an hour later, Zhang Fan finally couldn’t hold up anymore, reeking of alcohol, collapsed onto the table, his head resting on his arms, snoring away.
"My nephew can’t hold his liquor, huh." Xiong Sanqi grinned, the breath he exhaled smelled as sharp as evaporating spirits.
"Why did you come back this time?"
At this moment, it felt like there were only Xiong Sanqi and Liu Fusheng left in the meat shop.
"The boss said...he went to Zhenwu Mountain, and when he came back, he was completely different."
Xiong Sanqi put down the bottle in his hand, but there wasn’t a hint of drunkenness in his eyes.
"Is this fate?"
"You still haven’t answered my question." Liu Fusheng said in a deep voice.
"You should know...the Three Calamities aren’t that easy to pass." Xiong Sanqi said coldly.
Divine Demon Holy Embryo, there must be Three Calamities.
Great Night is Not Bright is only one of them, named the Eternal Night Tribulation.
"The latent dragon should not act... Our dear nephew is no ordinary fish in the pond, he’s been fully prepared all along." Xiong Qianqian looked at the completely plastered Zhang Fan, murmuring quietly.
"He wants to break the tribulation."
"That’s right... From the moment he left Zhenwu Mountain, he’s already started shedding the tribulation." Xiong Sanqi said darkly.
"Divine Splitting Technique, one becomes three: the Good God returns to the body, the Evil God hides in Yin, as for the Evil Gods..."
Xiong Qianqian hesitated in his words, showing a solemn expression.
Divine Splitting Technique, weird and unpredictable, even the slightest misstep leads to eternal doom.
That year, it was an act of desperation taken to escape the Great Night, making a risky move.
Rending the Primordial Spirit into three: Good God as master, still residing in the flesh, the Evil God left at Yin Mountain Xiong Family, but the critical part was the Evil Gods.
"They might be at White Crane Temple." Xiong Sanqi said in a low voice.
"Why there?" Liu Fusheng furrowed his brow.
White Crane Temple isn’t the greatest Daoist temple under heaven, hasn’t even occupied any famed mountains or great rivers, yet it’s in Shangjing, in the Capital City...
That represents the highest authority.
"That Li Changgeng at White Crane Temple... extraordinary. So young, already has a latent dragon’s bearing, far more menacing than back in the day." Xiong Sanqi said gravely.
"The land gives birth to talents in every generation, each proving their prowess for centuries."
"You met that kid? The one time we crossed paths years ago, should’ve slaughtered him then." Liu Fusheng said coldly.
He knew full well how terrifying the heir raised by White Crane Temple really was. The reason? Nothing but the fact that he practices one of the nine legendary ways, Heaven and Earth Stealing Fortune.
"That kid’s not somebody you can just toy with anymore."
Xiong Qianqian flicked his fingers absently, eyes unconsciously falling onto Zhang Fan.
"If he can’t break the tribulation, better hope he never runs into him in this lifetime."
As the words dropped, Zhang Fan lying on the table, his forehead on his arms, face down—at this moment, the eyes that had opened slowly closed, his expression invisible to all.
...
Late night, Shangjing City.
White Crane Temple.
Inside an alchemy room, wavering firelight barely revealed a human silhouette in the corner; at that moment, a pair of bright eyes stared fixedly at a TV screen, currently playing a video—somewhat blurry, laced with white static.
Beneath the high-hanging moon’s darkness in the woods, came the sound of howling again and again.
"Fall back...fall back...don’t treat him as just an ordinary brat..."
With a series of roars, more than a dozen figures burst out from the dense forest, appearing onscreen.
In the floating moonlight, a youth slowly emerged—around eleven or twelve, wearing a tracksuit and white canvas sneakers, still carrying some baby fat on his face.
His expression was cold, his eyes sharp as a blade sweeping over the crowd.
"Don’t challenge him with your Primordial Spirit...you’ll lose...this brat’s also cultivating..."
"Divine Demon Holy Embryo!!"
Buzz...
As soon as those words fell, the youth took a single step forward, vanishing from where he’d stood—then, ghostlike, he appeared behind the man who’d given the warning.
Rumble...
The crushing pressure of his Primordial Spirit instantly rendered the man motionless, blood streaming from his eyes, clutching his head in agony—then, with a crack, his skull exploded.
Bang...
Right then, the ground rippled like waves. Two massive hands shot upward, grasping for the boy’s legs.
"Earth Burial!" The youth formed a hand seal with one hand, whispering the words.
In that instant, the ground beneath his feet surged like a tidal wave, sand and gravel churning and grinding—within a breath, the man hidden underground was crushed into a mass of bloody meat. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶
"Wind Grasp Technique!"
At that moment, two Daoists moved together, summoning howling gale winds as sharp as blades, sweeping down at the youth.
"Cremation!"
As soon as he spoke, a True Flame burst forward, actually twisting the gale wind and reversing its flow—within seconds, it set the two Daoists ablaze.
Painful, tormented screams echoed through the moonlit night, as though from Purgatory itself.
"Five Elements Burial Skill!?"
A middle-aged Daoist’s face twisted in terror. Nearly at the same instant, the youth vanished before his eyes.
"Damn!"
The Daoist’s heart leapt—the next moment, a small hand had already landed atop his head.
The Immortal strokes my crown—a mere inch cracks open the Celestial Spirit.
Buzz...
Blood splattered, staining the night sky—the middle-aged Daoist instantly collapsed stone-dead in a pool of blood.
Almost instantly, sword-light flared—as a young Daoist, magic sword in hand, appeared behind the youth.
Whoosh...
A sword slashed through the air, whiter than snow—as it arrived, the youth suddenly opened his mouth, his sharp teeth clamped down, biting into the long sword head-on.
"Du Wang!"
He formed hand seals with both hands, the chanting of sutras seeming to echo around them—the young Daoist’s body shuddered violently, instantly losing all three spirits and seven souls, his body melting into a pool of mud, limp upon the ground, all living essence erased.
"Taiyi Life-saving Skill can be used like this?!" Everyone shuddered, fear finally dawning in their eyes.
"Brat, don’t get cocky."
At that moment, a Daoist with grizzled hair roared. His massive palms trembled, flickering with threads of lightning, crackling violently.
East three, south two, north one, west four—for these are the roots of number, the center makes five, thus known as Five Thunders Righteous Method.
Rumble...
Wild lightning surged like cannon fire, impossibly fast as it blasted toward the youth; a split-second later, thunder boomed, smoke billowed skyward, a huge crater gouged out of the earth.
"It’s done."
The crowd was both thrilled and stunned.
Buzz...
Suddenly, a horrifying aura surged—sweeping away all the smoking dust. The youth walked calmly out, his body now shrouded in arcs of lightning, as if Spirit Snakes writhing, endlessly alive.
"Shenxiao...Thunder Skill!!"
The old Daoist’s face twitched at the sight before him, at last despair showing in his eyes.
He couldn’t fathom how a kid could be so fearsome, mastering so many unique techniques, ruthlessly wielding them without a care.
So many of them still couldn’t take him down.
"Don’t be scared, White Crane Temple’s experts will be here any second!" Someone stammered, retreating as he tried to rally the others.
Screee... Screee...
Just then, haunting cries of cranes echoed, lingering in the moonlit night.
"White Crane Temple’s experts are here!" The crowd was overjoyed, craning their necks toward the sound.
"Never thought—aside from me, someone my age would be such a freak..."
"A worthy enemy!!!"
A lazy voice drifted out from deep in the forest; then, a youth dressed in white stepped out, only around eleven or twelve as well, pure as moonlight, immaculate, bright eyes fixing on the scene ahead.
"Who are you?" the boy asked, watching the newcomer with a soft murmur.
"My name is Li Changgeng."
The youth in white spoke quietly, his five fingers interlacing as bolts of thunder gathered between them—a mystic purple, wondrous beyond measure.
