Chapter 161: The Way to Survive

Listening to Bāshān Dào’s words, Yang Fan felt as though his mind had just exploded.

He had not been in the Bāshān tribe for long—barely two days in total. Yet, over these past two days, his assessment of Bāshān Mō, the chieftain of the Bāshān tribe, had inverted multiple times.

When they first met, Yang Fan had taken him for a mild-tempered, gentle uncle who looked after him in every way, showering him with gifts of all sorts. But after Bāshān Mō sought him out in private that very same day, Yang Fan’s perception of him underwent a drastic shift.

The friendly neighborly uncle transformed instantly into a smiling tiger.

For the longest time that day, Bāshān Mō had maintained his trademark smile, terrifying Yang Fan. Still, Yang Fan hadn't thought much of it at the time; whether Bāshān Mō was a smiling tiger or not was completely irrelevant to him. As long as the man was willing to use him and did nothing to harm him, it didn’t matter who he was. As long as Bāshān Mō brought him out of the Kunlun Secret Realm and into the outside world, any hidden motives the chieftain might harbor would cease to matter at all!

Yet today, Yang Fan’s impression of Bāshān Mō shifted yet again!

It was only today that Yang Fan realized that smiling uncle, that gentle and refined chieftain, had been nothing more than an act. Bāshān Mō’s inner nature was shockingly dark and sordid.

He was the current chieftain of the Bāshān tribe! Yang Fan had never heard of any clan taking the lives of its younger generation just to prevent them from growing. He had never heard of a chieftain ruthlessly slaughtering all the talented youths of his own tribe simply to secure his own position.

Hearing Bāshān Dào out left Yang Fan truly shaken, setting off a storm of thoughts in his mind.

Could someone with such a scheming mind and such tyrannical methods truly be lenient toward him? Could he really be trusted not to silence Yang Fan after extracting everything he wanted? Would he actually allow Yang Fan to walk out of the Kunlun Secret Realm alive?

Although there was no concrete evidence yet, and no definitive guarantee that he would be allowed to leave alive, Yang Fan refused to gamble. He had to figure something out.

If Bāshān Mō ever snapped and decided to take his life on a whim, Yang Fan would have almost zero capacity to resist!

The mere thought sent a chill down Yang Fan’s spine. What was the point of his cultivation? To stay alive! Why had he braved danger time and again in this Kunlun Secret Realm, playing along with these local aborigines? To stay alive!

Why had he left the orphanage in the first place to enter the Modu Martial Arts Academy? To stay alive!

Why had he taken Li Tian as his master? To stay alive...

Composing his emotions, Yang Fan looked at Bāshān Dào and said, "What you’ve told me, Brother Dào, truly comes as a great shock to Yang Fan. I never would have imagined..."

Bāshān Dào offered a bitter smile. "Brother Yang, don't feel bad that you, an outsider, failed to foresee this. Even among the other major native clans of the Kunlun Secret Realm, only a handful truly know Bāshān Mō for what he is.

"Bāshān Mō has occupied the position of chieftain for hundreds of years, and his lifespan is nearing its end. My father and uncles had been waiting for him to die of old age, watching and hoping for a brighter future for the younger generation of our Bāshān tribe. But then, Brother Yang, you arrived.

"Your arrival practically handed down a death sentence to our tribe. My father said that while Bāshān Mō is insidious and shameless, his cultivation talent is formidable indeed. Once someone like him reaches the outside world, it won't be long before he breaks through to the eleventh rank.

"The moment Bāshān Mō reaches the eleventh rank, an unprecedented disaster will befall the Bāshān tribe.

"A tenth-rank Martial Emperor lives for eight hundred years. An eleventh-rank Martial Sage transcends mortality, enjoying boundless lifespan, subject only to the tribulations of the Dao once every five hundred years. A normal Martial Sage can live for at least five thousand years...

"If Bāshān Mō is allowed to rule our Bāshān tribe for several thousand more years, Brother Yang, the descendants of our tribe will never see the light of day!"

Bāshān Dào’s words were filled with wretched despair, but Yang Fan remained indifferent. He couldn't help it; he was not a member of the Bāshān tribe. What he needed to consider right now wasn't Bāshān Mō breaking through to the eleventh rank, but how to escape the Bāshān tribe alive and return to Earth!

Once he reached Earth, as long as Bāshān Mō didn't manage a breakthrough the moment he crossed the passage, Yang Fan was confident he would ensure the man never got the chance to attain the eleventh rank!

Once he informed his teacher, Li Tian, of this man's true character, Li Tian would never tolerate him. Earth's current situation did not allow such a person to exist.

The moment Bāshān Mō set foot on Earth, he would meet nothing more than a single slash of Li Tian's blade!

Yet, how was he to get out alive?

Yang Fan’s head was pounding. Bāshān Mō was too unfathomable; he didn't dare to guess recklessly. What if his guess was wrong?

If Bāshān Mō kept questioning him in the future, should he answer or not?

If he answered, the moment Bāshān Mō gained a complete understanding of the outside world, Yang Fan would lose his utility, and this brute might just dispose of him on the spot!

Yet refusing to answer wasn't an option either. Offending Bāshān Mō would only ensure his death came sooner and more thoroughly. After all, Bāshān Mō could easily go out and find another newly arrived outsider to interrogate!

There were at least a few thousand Earth martial artists who had entered the Kunlun Secret Realm by now. Although the Bāshān tribe was far from the Azure Plain, given Bāshān Mō's strength, waiting by the periphery of the Azure Plain to catch an outsider by chance was entirely possible.

He was not indispensable... He had to find a way to make Bāshān Mō have no choice but to take him out...

At that moment, Yang Fan suddenly recalled Bāshān Hóng’s visit yesterday.

Bāshān Hóng had asked him to go down to the treasury... Why? Yang Fan instantly thought of that fellow deep underground whom Bāshān Hóng had addressed as Elder Hu.

Yang Fan quickly turned to Bāshān Dào and asked, "You mentioned that besides Bāshān Mō, the Bāshān tribe has another tenth-rank expert? Is he Bāshān Mō's younger brother? What is his name?"

Bāshān Dào replied, "His name is Bāshān Huá. He is Bāshān Mō's biological younger brother, but the two had a falling out a hundred years ago, and Bāshān Huá was cast into the depths of the earth by Bāshān Mō... Over the past century, very few people have known whether Bāshān Huá is dead or alive. It has become a taboo topic within our tribe..."

Yang Fan nodded. While Bāshān Dào and the others had no idea whether Bāshān Huá was dead or alive, Yang Fan knew for a fact that he was. Back then, when that furious Bāshān Huá had torn Bāshān Mō's spiritual probe to shreds, Yang Fan had been puzzled. How could a tribesman treat his own chieftain like that? Today, everything was clear!

And Bāshān Hóng's desire to descend underground was surely connected to this Bāshān Huá!

What was the connection?

Yang Fan felt he had already guessed it... Bāshān Hóng had also been driven to despair by his arrival.

Once Bāshān Mō advanced to the eleventh rank, the Bāshān tribe would be utterly beyond saving, and Bāshān Hóng's hopes would be completely extinguished.

The only way to curb Bāshān Mō was to eliminate him before he reached the eleventh rank... And the only person in the Bāshān tribe capable of going toe-to-toe with Bāshān Mō was Bāshān Huá, who was currently suppressed deep underground...

In an instant, Yang Fan’s mind cleared, and he hit upon a plan to keep himself alive!