Chapter 78: Winds Rise and Clouds Surge

Zhang the Great Demon mulled over these things in his heart, yet he dove toward Che Wuyou as swiftly as lightning, all the while observing Bai Hansong’s reaction. To his surprise, when Bai Hansong saw him swooping down, he made no move to intercept at all; instead, he fled even faster.

Zhang Weida’s dive lasted less than a pavilion’s length before he abruptly turned back, clearly not believing that Bai Hansong would truly be willing to toss the Completion Pill to a little beggar. After all, the Completion Pill was far too precious. With this test, his conviction only grew: Bai Hansong must have handed the beggar a fake.

“If I were that Bai Hansong brat, I’d also use the beggar as a decoy to buy time for escape, but I would never really throw the Completion Pill to the beggar. That would be too reckless—if it were snatched away in such a gamble, one would regret it for a lifetime.” Thinking thus, Zhang Weida shot off in the direction where Bai Hansong had disappeared, without the slightest hesitation.

From afar, Bai Hansong saw a black cloud chasing after him, and his face turned ashen. The Great Demon Zhang had abandoned the beggar to pursue him instead—what could he possibly be thinking? He’d already surrendered the pill, yet the fiend wouldn’t relent. Truly, his luck had run out.

Having suffered greatly under Zhang’s hand earlier, Bai Hansong knew well the terror this demon inspired. He understood full well that trying to reason with such a cunning villain would be pointless. While he cursed his fate inwardly, he dared not pause for even a moment, fleeing madly as a streak of light toward the distant horizon.

Zhang Weida, naturally, would not give up so easily. Bai Hansong had already fallen victim to his Vajra Seal—he was confident Bai Hansong could not escape his grasp. Watching Bai Hansong’s frantic flight, Zhang Weida sneered, “Brat, you dare play mind games with me? How could I possibly fall for your tricks?”

He pursued Bai Hansong relentlessly, driving him to utter despair—no way up to the heavens, no way down to the earth. Bai Hansong was no match in a fight, his explanations deemed nothing but deception, and even escape was futile. Just as Bai Hansong believed his life was forfeit, he was met by Bai Xuesong, who had come to his aid.

The Twin Heroes of Tianshan lived up to their name. Alone, Bai Hansong had been driven like a stray dog, but together, their combined power multiplied. Both brothers had grown up side by side, inheriting the full secrets of the Phantom Sword Art, and were considered top seed disciples of the Tianshan Sword Sect. Their fame resonated throughout all of Nanzhan Buzhou—they were hardly easy opponents.

Had it been anyone else, the Twin Swords of Tianshan would have left them with nothing but bitter defeat. Yet Zhang Weida, a top general under the Vajra Throne and a demon who had lived for centuries, was no ordinary adversary. With his magic blade and his unmatched Vajra Seals, he managed to suppress the Twin Heroes.

The brothers were nearly driven to the point of spitting blood from frustration. Never since their debut had they suffered such humiliation, being bested even in tandem. If word spread, how could they maintain their standing in the cultivation world?

The battle raged furiously, neither side yielding. Though Zhang Weida held a slight advantage, overcoming both brothers proved beyond his reach. Realizing it would be difficult to secure a decisive victory, Zhang Weida retreated for the moment, planning to devise another strategy.

After retreating, Zhang Weida did not leave the area. Instead, he pursued the path Che Wuyou had taken, determined to confirm whether the beggar had truly obtained the Completion Pill. He had personally seen Bai Hansong toss a silvery box to the boy. Though he knew the odds were slim, he could not rest without trying.

However, as he gave chase, he unexpectedly encountered the returning Twin Heroes of Tianshan. Old enemies flared with renewed anger, and another battle erupted. Yet again, the difference between them was slight; after an inconclusive struggle, both sides withdrew.

Though the clash yielded no result, it made Zhang Weida all the more suspicious. Had the beggar truly gotten the pill? Otherwise, why would the Twin Heroes also appear here? Could they, too, be searching for the beggar? The more he pondered, the more plausible it seemed. If he could find the beggar first, this would not be a wasted effort.

Both parties seemed to understand each other's intentions. With a glance, they simultaneously shouted and began a mad search for Che Wuyou. Yet, despite combing the vicinity, they found no trace of him. With their astonishing speed, they swept an area of thousands of miles in a single day, but Che Wuyou seemed to have vanished without a trace.

A day later, at the very spot where Zhang Weida and the Twin Heroes had fought, Che Wuyou crawled out from a humble mountain cave. What a close call! The previous day, after Zhang Weida and Bai Hansong had chased each other off, Che Wuyou hurried his old horse back to the original spot.

Che Wuyou knew that with his speed, shaking off the two experts was a fool’s dream. Thus, he sought a cave nearby and slipped inside to hide. His horse, however, was too conspicuous. To avoid detection, he was forced to kill his old companion with his own hands and bury it in a secluded corner.

When Zhang Weida and the Twin Heroes returned, each was wary of the other. Seeing no sign of the beggar, neither dared to use spiritual sense for a large-scale search, fearing it would play into the other’s schemes. So they merely made a cursory inspection and then each flew off in a different direction, allowing Che Wuyou to escape by a stroke of luck.

They had seen the beggar gallop away the day before—none imagined he would be cunning enough to circle back. Such experts possessed formidable spiritual senses, yet their mutual suspicion kept them from searching thoroughly together. Once apart, they scoured the land with utmost care, probing even dog holes with their senses. Yet after an exhaustive sweep of a thousand miles, they found neither Che Wuyou nor his horse.

In the end, both parties returned once more out of fear that the other might find the beggar first. Each feigned success and then departed. In truth, they both believed the other had already found him, and after such an exhausting day, they overlooked the original spot once more. Thus, Che Wuyou managed to slip away right under the noses of three great experts.

“Whether it’s that old demon Zhang Weida or Bai Hansong of the Tianshan Sword Sect, neither is a good sort. If they catch me, there’ll be no way out. So where should I hide now? Lying low here can only deceive them for a while—if they wise up, they’ll surely double back to search again…”

Che Wuyou pondered quietly. “To avoid them, it seems I must head back to Jizhou for now. They’d never expect me to carry the Completion Pill into such a remote place. After all, to sell such a miraculous pill, one would need a large, bustling market, and Jizhou clearly lacks that.”

He gazed at the silver-transparent box in his hands. Through it, he could clearly see the Completion Pill inside. The golden pill shimmered with a lively aura, and even through the box, he could sense the abundant spiritual power it contained.

Though he did not know what grade the Completion Pill was, its spiritual energy far surpassed even the finest yellow-grade pills—perhaps it was even higher.

Such a powerful elixir Che Wuyou had never seen before. He knew very well that to consume a pill of this caliber, one needed at least a mighty cultivator of the Nascent Soul stage to oversee the process. Anyone below that realm would never dare to try. If anyone greedy enough attempted it, the pill’s spiritual energy would surely tear them apart.

No wonder Bai Hansong had dared to throw the pill to him so casually—he was no threat at all when it came to such a treasure.

Che Wuyou stroked the silver box and carefully tucked the Completion Pill into his bosom. Knowing this place was no longer safe, he set out in the direction he had come, heading for Jizhou. On the way, he traveled by night and hid by day, choosing only the most desolate paths. In this way, he managed to evade pursuit from both the Tianshan Sword Sect and the Demon Sect.

After Che Wuyou left with the Completion Pill, three major powers in Nanzhan Buzhou began to search for him, and countless other forces joined the hunt in secret. Among them, the Tianshan Sword Sect and the followers of the Vajra Throne were the most frenzied—having the pill snatched from under their very noses by a nameless beggar left their elders livid.

Zhang Weida and the Twin Heroes felt as if they had swallowed a fly. Three great experts, and they had lost track of a mere beggar. The most laughable thing was that, when they finally realized what had happened, all they found was the corpse of Che Wuyou’s old horse; clearly, Che Wuyou had long since vanished. An ant-like nobody, hiding right under their noses, had walked away with a pill of earth-rank caliber, the Completion Pill, slapping them hard in the face before vanishing without a trace.