Chapter 151: The Trump Card

Yang Fan picked up the Mad Flower Saber beside him and swiftly carved a wound into his arm, deep enough to reveal bone.

The instant the blade touched his skin, cold sweat broke out across Yang Fan’s body.

He immediately began circulating the Kunlun Imperishable Art, while at the same time observing the inside of his body.

As soon as the Kunlun Imperishable Art began to flow, his vital blood surged toward the wound, then rose in waves into it, repairing the damage.

When the wound on his arm vanished, Yang Fan realized that he had consumed only a tenth of his total vital blood. This was completely different from what had happened beneath the Endless Abyss. Back then, repairing a wound of roughly the same severity had consumed half his vital blood. Now, it had taken only a mere tenth—and even that was not the end of it.

After the vital blood within him had been depleted, Yang Fan felt his heart begin to beat with powerful force. Then he sensed streams of fresh blood flowing through his body.

The vital blood consumed by the Kunlun Imperishable Art began to replenish itself at astonishing speed.

The sensation made Yang Fan feel as if he possessed a vital-blood pack. Anyone who had played games knew that many of them came with external health packs, so players would not forget to restore their health during the game. Once a player’s health fell to a certain level, the pack would automatically replenish it.

That was exactly how Yang Fan felt now.

In the past, even if Yang Fan had drawn a bowl of blood first, it would have been of little use. Vital-blood power was merely an initial force on the path of cultivation. Upon reaching the Third Rank, it would be replaced by spiritual energy, and so vital-blood power had never been taken seriously in the cultivation world.

But Yang Fan was different now.

After obtaining the Kunlun Imperishable Art, what he needed most was vital-blood power. The system could replenish spiritual energy and fill his sea of qi whenever necessary, but vital blood was another matter. The system could not replenish it—at least, it had no vital-blood option yet.

That bowl of blood produced by the system had changed everything.

Yang Fan knew full well how powerful the Kunlun Imperishable Art was. One only had to look at Kunlun to understand. It could be restrained, but not killed—though that was also because his enemies had no intention of killing him. If someone truly wished to kill a practitioner of the Kunlun Imperishable Art, it was still possible. They merely had to exhaust all of that person’s vital blood. No matter how powerful his regenerative ability was, it would become useless once his vital blood was gone.

But facing Kunlun and exhausting all his vital blood was no easy task. No one knew just how vast the reserves of a successor to the Kunlun Imperishable Art might be. Even if they managed to consume a certain amount, once matters reached a critical point, Kunlun would certainly fight to the death.

It would be better to leave him a sliver of hope and seal him away instead.

...

Yang Fan excitedly savored the sensations within his body. His greatest strength was no longer any battle technique, nor was it the Nine Heavens of Berserk Combat. His true trump card had become the Kunlun Imperishable Art.

With such an enormous supply of vital blood, who could possibly outlast him?

Yang Fan was deeply skeptical that anyone could.

At this moment, even if he faced Li Xianyi at the peak of the Fourth Rank, Yang Fan would dare to fight him. So what if Li Xianyi was a genius? So what if he possessed the title of the One Sword of Devil City?

Those things meant nothing.

His offensive power might not match Li Xianyi’s, but even ten Li Xianyis combined would not possess his regenerative ability. Li Xianyi could strike him without worry—Yang Fan could simply recover.

But what if Li Xianyi were the one to take a slash from him?

Let the bastard cry himself hoarse from the pain!

Yang Fan was in high spirits now, feeling as though spring had finally arrived in his life. He had no idea that, in another estate not far from his residence, four people were discussing a plan that would drag him into the middle of everything.

......

At that moment, in the hall of Ba Shan Hong’s residence, where spiritual power had been spread throughout the entire room, the four men discussing the matter all wore grim expressions.

Ba Shan Cangmang said angrily, “Ba Shan Gui, what you said makes sense. But if we follow your plan, we can forget about changing the heavens. We might as well continue living as dogs beneath Ba Shan Mo’s feet—”

Before Ba Shan Cangmang could finish, Ba Shan Hong shouted, “Cangmang, are you out of your mind? We are discussing the matter. Gui is right. Those are the problems in front of us. If even one of them is not handled properly, all our efforts will end in failure, and we will remain dogs, just as you said.

“Whatever it is, we can discuss it together. The four of us grew up together, after all. For all these years, a dark cloud has hung over our heads. We have all wanted to disperse it and see the sun. But where are we supposed to find a bamboo pole tall enough to reach it?”

Ba Shan Cangmang’s face was livid with fury, yet Ba Shan Hong’s words left him unable to respond.

He could only choke back his anger alone. Ba Shan Hong paid him no mind. In Ba Shan Hong’s eyes, Ba Shan Cangmang was merely a brute—and not one burdened with a brain, either. Perhaps the only time in his entire life he had ever used his mind was a hundred years ago, when the four of them had discussed breaking through at the same time.

Back then, the other three had all assumed that Ba Shan Cangmang, given his temperament, would be the first to break through. Yet they waited until the very end. Elder Hua had already been beaten into the ground, and Ba Shan Cangmang still had not broken through.

Because of that incident, the other three had regarded Ba Shan Cangmang with slightly greater respect throughout the past century.

But looking at him now, he was still a brainless fool. Who knew whether his ancestors had secretly blessed him back then? He had actually become enlightened at the most critical moment.

Unfortunately, that flash of enlightenment had occurred only once.

Ba Shan Hong continued, “Gui, your suggestion is very reasonable. The first problem is easy to deal with. In a few days, I will go meet that young friend from the outside world. He is someone who understands the times. If I persuade him kindly, he will help us. If he refuses, then we will suppress him by force. Since we are going to do this anyway, his life or death will no longer matter. If he refuses to help, he can die.

“As for the second matter—the seal binding Elder Hua—we will have to wait until that boy Yang Fan enters the treasury before we can learn anything useful. I believe Elder Hua knows what is imprisoning him. Once we discover the nature of the seal, we will find a way to deal with it.

“The third matter is the most difficult. So let me ask all of you: do you truly want to change the heavens?”

Ba Shan Hong paused and looked toward the other three.

Ba Shan Cangmang was wild with rage and fervor. Ba Shan Gui was sharp-eyed and unfathomably deep. Ba Shan Wujiang wore an expressionless face, responding with cold indifference.

Each of them was deep in thought.

“Hong, you have asked the wrong question,” Ba Shan Gui said, looking at the other three men and speaking each word carefully. “Whether we want to change the heavens is not something you need to ask. Of course we do. It has been our obsession for centuries.

“But everyone knows that whoever breaks through first will be the first to die. That is certain. And none of the four of us can leave the territory of the Ba Shan Tribe. The last time, Hong, when you were sent away, you had already swallowed a Life-Ending Pill. Ba Shan Mo is sinister and treacherous. He would never allow us to leave the tribe and break through elsewhere.

“What everyone is really worried about is not whether we can break through. It is whether, after breaking through with all our passion, we discover that the others have not broken through—and in doing so turn ourselves into Ba Shan Mo’s foremost target.

“If that happens, then the first person to break through will surely die with his eyes open.”

After he finished speaking, Ba Shan Gui cast a sidelong glance at Ba Shan Wujiang, who had said very little all along.

Ba Shan Gui had always felt that this man’s heart was even deeper than his own.