Chapter 160: A Bit Too Friendly

"Brother Yang, I'll be straight with you, and I won't beat around the bush. I want to enter your world..." Bashandao said with a deeply conflicted expression.

Yang Fan, on the other hand, wore a look of utter disbelief.

What on earth did that mean? Was he really this nervous and repressed over just this matter?

Clueless, Yang Fan asked, "Huh?"

Seeing that Yang Fan made no commitment, Bashandao's heart instantly plunged to rock bottom. He hurriedly said, "Brother Yang, you are the only person I know from the outside world, and you are someone backed by powerful forces out there. It shouldn't be too hard to quietly smuggle me out to the outside world, right?"

Yang Fan still didn't quite get it, but the word "quietly" certainly registered in his ears.

So Yang Fan asked, "Quietly? Why is that, Brother Dao? Given your status as an elder's son, as long as our world agrees to let you in, you should naturally be among the first batch of selected candidates to enter the outside world. Why would you need to beg me?"

Instead of answering immediately, Bashandao got up, closed all the doors and windows, pulled Yang Fan up from his chair, and led him to a secluded corner. With a dead-serious look on his face, he said, "Brother Yang, since you asked, I will tell you. But this matter is a taboo of the entire Bashan Tribe. Whether you are willing to help me or not, this must never be leaked. If you agree, I'll tell you!"

At that moment, Yang Fan was completely bewildered. What was this guy getting at? He wanted a commitment in advance, otherwise he wouldn't talk. Right then, Yang Fan genuinely wanted to beg Bashandao to stop talking; he really didn't want to know... But a secret of the Bashan Tribe? Well, he was still interested. The main thing was that ever since he entered the Kunlun Secret Realm, he hadn't achieved much. Although he had seen quite a few experts, he hadn't truly learned anything substantial!

Back in the Kunpeng Tribe, Kun Sha had kept him on such a tight leash that he had no opportunity to get in touch with anything real. Everything he saw was only what Kun Sha wanted him to see, and those things were completely worthless.

After leaving the Kunpeng Tribe, he entered the Endless Cliff. He could talk about the Endless Cliff after leaving, but that was just a trapped Tenth-Rank Martial Emperor... with no influence and no background. Yang Fan felt that his utility value wouldn't be very high either. At the very least, Li Tian probably wouldn't care much about a trapped Tenth-Rank Martial Emperor.

But things were different now. A secret of the Bashan Tribe! And the Bashan Tribe was among the top twenty tribes in the entire Kunlun Secret Realm. Would a secret held by such a tribe hold value for Earth?

After pondering for a moment, Yang Fan said to Bashandao, "Brother Dao, go ahead. I promise you, I will never mention it to anyone... I can swear an oath..."

Just as Yang Fan was about to swear, Bashandao hurriedly waved his hand and said, "There's no need, Brother Yang. The Dao does not exist within the Kunlun Secret Realm, so a Dao oath is useless. Besides, since you've agreed, how could I not trust Brother Yang? You and I are brothers..."

Yang Fan put on an excited expression, as if deeply moved by Bashandao's trust, but inwardly he sneered. Of course he knew that Dao oaths were useless in the Kunlun Secret Realm; that was something Yang Fan had figured out after his experiences in Kunlun.

Why had Kunlun made him take the Blood-Devouring Pill back then? If conditions permitted, nothing could be more effective than a Dao oath, unless Yang Fan had no desire to advance to higher levels.

External items like the Blood-Devouring Pill ultimately had ways of being countered. For example, hadn't that bowl of blood from this recent draw dissolved the Blood-Devouring Pill?

If he hadn't known this situation, wild horses couldn't have dragged an oath out of Yang Fan. He had firmly made up his mind to return and report everything...

After gathering his thoughts, Bashandao began: "Brother Yang, there is a widely known secret within our Bashan Tribe. All of us in the tribe have a giant mountain pressing down upon our heads... Our current patriarch, Bashan Mo..." When Bashandao uttered the name Bashan Mo with a gloomy expression, Yang Fan could clearly feel Bashandao's body twitch slightly, as if he held a deep taboo toward that name.

Yang Fan asked, "Patriarch Bashan Mo? Surely not. From my interactions with him, Patriarch Bashan Mo seemed very amiable..."

Bashandao sneered and said, "Brother Yang, how long have you even been in our Bashan Tribe? Besides, your status is different; of course Bashan Mo would be extra polite to you. He's trying to use you to enter the outside world and obtain more things..."

Yang Fan nodded silently, offering no comment.

In truth, Yang Fan had always known that Bashan Mo was a tiger with a smile on his face. No Tenth-Rank expert would be so benevolent and amiable when facing lower-level martial artists, unless they were close relatives. Yet to him, an outsider, Bashan Mo had been exceptionally friendly—that friendliness was over the top.

Back then, how had Kun Sha treated him? Kun Sha had treated him straight up as a messenger. Although polite, the irresistible coercion in his tone had been very strong. But facing Bashan Mo, Yang Fan hadn't felt that way. Bashan Mo spoke to him with utmost courtesy; although there were occasionally underlying notes of command, Bashan Mo disguised them exceptionally well, right on point!

Bashandao continued, "Bashan Mo has been the shackle weighing down upon the Bashan Tribe for hundreds of years. Ever since Bashan Mo became patriarch and advanced to the Tenth Rank, apart from his younger brother, Elder Bashan Hua, who is currently sealed deep underground, there has not been a single living Tenth-Rank expert left... Even the patriarch of the previous generation, who had placed himself in seclusion, was murdered by Bashan Mo... Bashan Mo is extremely cautious by nature, yet at the same time, he harbors immense ambition. He wants to transcend the world, but he worries that someone by his side might threaten him.

"For all these years, elders in the Bashan Tribe have been rotated with high frequency. Not a single elder has ever managed to live to reach the Tenth Rank. The lifespan of a Ninth-Rank is limited to four hundred years, but out of those four hundred years, not a single elder has been able to live out their full term... Basically, just as they reach the peak of the Ninth Rank and touch the threshold of the Tenth Rank after some time, they are murdered by Bashan Mo!

"My father, Bashan Gui, is one of the four great elders of our Bashan Tribe, and he has held his position for over a hundred and fifty years. One hundred and fifty years ago, my father entered the Ninth Rank. At that time, his natural talent was peerless. Before reaching the Ninth Rank, or rather among his peers, my father was a standout. But after reaching the Ninth Rank, my father dared not cultivate any further.

"Bashan Mo's shadow has crept further and further away from my father, and by extension, even I dare not push myself too hard in cultivation.

"My talent is not bad, but from the very first day I began practicing, my father told me never to show my brilliance and to always remain patient. The moment I ever displayed strong talent would mark the day my father was not far from death. Bashan Mo will never allow two Ninth-Rank experts to appear in the same family at the same time... I've been cultivating for decades, and even my prime years have passed. Actually, I hold no more hope for cultivation.

"Originally, I thought I would just muddle through the rest of this lifetime like this, but I never expected that the passage connecting to the outside world would actually open. When I learned of this news, I had only one thought: to leave this realm and go outside. Even though cultivation is no longer my strong suit, I still want to fight for a chance. Even if it truly fails, I want to escape Bashan Mo's constraints. At least in your world, the sky above my head might be a little clearer..."