Chapter 53 Slain with a Single Sword

At the border between the Central State and the Northern Territory, the figures of Ye Fan and Chu Ling'er appeared.

Further ahead lay the territory of the Central State.

Ye Fan turned around to cast a glance at the land behind him, a wave of lingering emotion stirring in his heart.

Over the years, sheltered by his father's soaring sect, he had lived an exceptionally comfortable life in the Northern Territory.

Regardless of who it was, as long as they recognized his identity, they would treat him with the utmost courtesy.

Here, Ye Fan had hardly ever suffered any humiliation.

The darkest period of his life was simply the time spent alongside Chu Ling'er.

Yet, all of that had already become the past; after his rebirth, he had seen through everything.

Moreover, following the awakening of his Heaven-Swallowing physique, he was no longer the idle, good-for-nothing playboy of the past.

Stepping into the Central State this time would perhaps open up an entirely new chapter.

Ye Fan took a deep breath, and just as he was about to step forward across the boundary into the Central State, four rapid sounds of tearing through the air suddenly came from ahead.

"Master's intelligence was indeed correct!"

"Ye Fan! You little bastard, you really have a death wish!"

"You killed the disciples of our Nether Sect, yet you still dare to swagger into the Central State."

"Instead of us coming to look for you, you've actually delivered yourself right to our doorstep!"

Gazing at the four figures before him, Ye Fan instantly remembered.

He had previously encountered these four disciples of the Nether Sect.

Back then, they had come to the Northern Territory looking for him, intending to avenge Lü Cheng and Zhou Xu.

In the end, however, they had been frightened so badly by his four half-god bodyguards that they nearly wet their pants.

"I wondered who it could be, and it turns out to be a few stinking fish and rotten shrimp like you."

"What? Weren't you scared enough last time? Running here now to hand over your heads?"

Ye Fan said with a playful expression.

Among these four, the one with the highest cultivation was merely at the early stage of Deity Transformation; even if they all attacked simultaneously, they would pose no threat to him.

The four half-god bodyguards lurking in the shadows wanted to make a move, but Ye Fan directly sent them a mental message telling them to stand down.

This time, he wanted to stretch his muscles and bones in person.

"Hmph, last time you merely relied on the protection of four half-god experts."

"Otherwise, the grass on your grave would already be a meter high by now."

Ye Fan raised an eyebrow. "Is that so? Why don't you try it first, then?"

Standing to the side, Chu Ling'er felt a sudden surge of secret delight when she saw someone coming to cause trouble for Ye Fan.

Although she had never seen these people before, she had met Zhou Xu.

And the attire of these people was identical to Zhou Xu's; without even thinking, she knew they hailed from the Nether Sect.

It was said that the Nether Sect was also one of the top supreme forces in the Central State, and the strength of its disciples was naturally extraordinary.

If these four could manage to deal with Ye Fan, it would simply feel like justice descending from the heavens for her!

"Little bastard, since you're courting death, I'll grant your wish!"

The one who spoke was precisely the person with the highest cultivation among the four.

As his voice fell, his early Deity Transformation cultivation instantly burst forth.

Yet, the moment he rushed toward Ye Fan, he slammed headfirst into an invisible barrier.

Following that, no matter how frantically he struck out, he remained entirely incapable of shattering this formless barrier.

The man's expression darkened, and he intended to retreat first, but the moment he took a step back, he was astonished to discover that his retreat was likewise blocked by an invisible barrier behind him.

At that moment, panic gripped him, and he instinctively groped toward the left and right sides.

Sure enough, the situation on both sides was completely identical to the front and back.

In other words, he was now thoroughly sealed within a completely enclosed space.

He stared in disbelief at Ye Fan, who was mere inches away, and finally understood that this was Ye Fan's divine ability.

Only, try as he might, he could not fathom how Ye Fan possessed such terrifying strength.

"Senior Brother Wang, what are you messing around for? Hurry up and slaughter him!"

"That's right, trash like this is nothing without protection; hurry up and kill him so we can go back and report!"

The other three, completely oblivious to the situation, continued urging their senior brother to strike quickly, entirely unaware of the gravity of the matter.

However, the very next second...

Ye Fan flicked his wrist, and a pitch-black longsword abruptly materialized.

Immediately afterward, without the slightest hesitation, he slashed down toward the man trapped within the invisible barrier.

The man attempted to circulate his spiritual energy for defense, only to discover that the speed of its circulation had become excruciatingly sluggish.

"Crack!"

A crisp shattering sound echoed, and as the barrier disintegrated into pieces, the man was sliced directly in half along with it!

"Senior Brother Wang!"

The three of them froze in utter stupidity at the sight.

Until this very moment, they still had no idea what had happened.

They had merely watched Ye Fan casually deliver a single sword strike, instantly executing their senior brother on the spot without the slightest sign of resistance.

"You... exactly what did you do?"

Ignoring them, Ye Fan emitted a cold snort and proclaimed in a deep voice, "Drawing a circle as a prison."

As his words faded, the space surrounding the three of them instantly rippled, and three formless cages materialized out of thin air, completely sealing them within.

"Now you should understand what has happened."

"It's a pity you've realized it far too late."

"Go down and keep your good senior brother company."

Channelling his spiritual energy to converge upon the black longsword, Ye Fan casually swept out a fierce sword Qi, instantly slicing their physical bodies apart.

The formless cages dissipated, and the remains of the three plummeted powerlessly toward the ground, their life force completely extinguished.

Chu Ling'er was already frightened out of her wits by everything that had unfolded before her eyes.

This was the first time she had ever witnessed Ye Fan killing someone; although she had seen him make a move previously, it had at most resulted in leaving people severely injured.

Chu Ling'er instinctively swallowed a mouthful of saliva. She had originally harbored the hope that these four could easily slaughter Ye Fan, yet she never expected that they would prove completely defenseless in front of him.

More importantly, the cultivation levels of all four of these men surpassed Lin Yi's.

If the current Lin Yi were to face Ye Fan, the outcome could be easily imagined.

Only then did Chu Ling'er realize that even though Lin Yi's cultivation speed was remarkably fast, a considerable gap still remained between him and Ye Fan.

"Stop staring blankly, it's time to leave."

Putting away his longsword, Ye Fan held his head high and stepped into the Central State.

...

Central State, Jiangling City.

Ye Fan walked along the city streets with Chu Ling'er, absorbing the distinct atmosphere.

The Central State was truly different; to speak of nothing else, simply the building materials of these houses were incomparable to any town in the Northern Territory.

Even the most luxurious Luocheng fell far short of the bustling prosperity found here.

Furthermore, it was said that every city here possessed an auction house—for Ye Fan, this was the most attractive aspect of all.

Having already witnessed the wealth of the Central State, the auction houses here would undoubtedly feature goods far superior in quality to those in Luocheng's auction house.

Coming out this trip, Ye Fan had brought quite a number of spiritual stones, more than enough for him to squander in the auction houses.

"Let's go, let's see what is unique about the auction houses in the Central State."

Had they been in Luocheng, Ye Fan could have directly entered his exclusive private box.

Yet here, he could only follow the example of other cultivators and find a seat within the auction hall on the first floor.

He still felt somewhat unaccustomed to this.

Still, being a newcomer, it was better to maintain a low profile; squeezing in a bit was hardly a problem.