Chapter 1019: Shameless
“This punk has chosen a different path and he is proceeding down it himself. It’s simply courting death, so let’s wait for him to vaporize!”
Many of the Azure Wood Manor separatists had seen Yi Yun walking into the Blood Desert. Moments ago, Yi Yun had been hiding behind them while watching them incur ridicule on themselves. They were already incredibly vexed about the situation, and now, it was finally Yi Yun’s turn to traverse the land of death.
“A single misstep out of the thousand steps in the Blood Desert would result in an irredeemable outcome. That bit of skill he has is nothing but him courting death,” said the purple-robed elder.
Mistakes could hardly be avoided when one attempted to divine the forces of nature; thus, the purple-robed elder refused to believe that Yi Yun had seen through the mysteries of the Blood Desert. Having nine lives was not even sufficient to cross the Blood Desert alone.
After taking a few steps, Yi Yun turned and said to Yue Yingsha, “Yue Yingsha, why don’t you follow me?”
“I…” Yue Yingsha felt somewhat apologetic. How could she let Yi Yun probe the way in front while she followed safely behind?
“It’s fine. The Blood Desert might appear endless, but it’s actually not that big. It wouldn’t take long to cross it.”
As Yi Yun was saying that, he turned around and proceeded forward.
Wouldn’t take long to cross it?
The way Yi Yun said it sounded way too relaxed.
The speed at which Yi Yun walked was at the speed of common mortals. But this was in stark contrast to the other disciples of the Azure Wood Manor, who walked at speeds that could rival a tortoise’s because of the fear of stepping into a forbidden zone.
Under the watchful gazes of many people, Yi Yun proceeded to take ten steps followed by twenty steps. He did not encounter any danger as if he was walking in an ordinary desert.
How could it be… Did he really manage to find a path of salvation?
The Azure Wood Manor separatists found it incredulous.
“Maybe it’s luck,” insisted a young man who remained indignant. His gaze subconsciously turned towards the purple-robed elder.
However, he noticed that the purple-robed elder had an ugly expression on his face. The purple-robed elder knew very well that what Yi Yun was demonstrating was absolutely not something that could be explained away with luck. He had worked through all sorts of divinations, but two mistakes were made in over thirty steps. Now, Yi Yun had already walked for more than twenty steps without a problem. In addition to his accurate predictions from before, all of this led to the conclusion that Yi Yun had seen through the forces of nature embedded in the Blood Desert.
How did he do it?
In a blink of an eye, Yi Yun had already taken more than forty steps. The distance he had traveled had exceeded the progress the Azure Wood Manor had made. Although Yi Yun and the Azure Wood Manor had chosen two different paths, their direction was identical. Now, Yi Yun had already come to a spot ahead of the Azure Wood Manor separatists.
At that moment, those from the Azure Wood Manor who still refused to believe Yi Yun could no longer say a word. The facts were laid out in front of them. The path of salvation they had used Daoist arts to infer and forged by sacrificing lives was inferior to the path that Yi Yun had carved out casually.
“Elder Dagu, this…”
“I’m not blind. I’m seeing it!” said the purple-robed elder in a deep voice. He had suffered a huge blow when he realized that Yi Yun had surpassed him so simply.
“Elder Dagu, shall we change our paths and follow in Yi Yun’s footsteps?”
Seven Plume suddenly made a suggestion. The spot they were in was only about a few dozen paces away from where Yi Yun was. If they tore through it and follow in his footsteps, wouldn’t it lead to them crossing the Blood Desert?
“Well…alright…” said the purple-robed elder with a hesitant nod. Although it was an act of a wuss, it was indeed the safest and most effective method.
“Hold on! Bring us along! We can spare a few people to help you scout the path. Bring us along!”
A voice suddenly came from a short distance away. The person who had spoken was the Immortal Rain Sect’s, Marquis Wu Yun.
These few Immortal Rain Sect disciples felt a deep sense of despair after witnessing their companions die. In the Blood Desert, they did not even dare flinch. Now, all they could do was rely on the people from the Azure Wood Manor so that they could leave the godforsaken land.
If they knew that the Door to the 33 Skies was fraught with such danger, they would not have come even if they were threatened by force. The expedition to the Azure Wood Great World was a disaster that had befallen them.
“Bring them along and get them to be the scouts,” said Seven Plume. The purple-robed elder nodded and said, “Come over by yourselves. Being able to cross this distance will depend on your karma. If you are unable to cross it successfully, then it was fated that you perish here!”
…
“Yi Yun, those people intend to follow us,” Yue Yingsha said frustratingly when she saw the scene behind her.
At that moment, Yi Yun was already leading the rest by more than fifty steps. As for the Azure Wood Manor separatists, together with the Immortal Rain Sect disciples, they had paid a significant price before they managed to reach the path Yi Yun had taken.
“Do you still have any sense of shame? Seven Plume, you were the one who forced Yi Yun to scout the way. Yi Yun refused and you disallowed him from following you. But now, Yi Yun has found a path of salvation, and you people are shamelessly following him. Your shamelessness has no bounds!” said Yue Yingsha from the front.
Seven Plume chuckled and said disdainfully, “Junior Sister Yingsha, you are too naive. The martial path has always been about unscrupulous schemes. What use does shame have? Can it improve your cultivation level?”
“Furthermore, how can you tell that we are deliberately following the two of you. It just happens that Elder Dagu has divined a path that is identical to yours in certain stretches. You might scorn us for following you, but why can’t we scorn the two of you for blocking our paths in the front!?”
The more Seven Plume spoke, the more complacent he became. He was not afraid that Yi Yun would switch paths. Wherever Yi Yun went, they would follow his every step. Every step they took would be identical to the one Yi Yun took. He refused to believe that there would be any danger.
“That person is too shameless!”
Yue Yingsha never expected that such a shameless person existed in the world. She could have turned a blind eye about him following Yi Yun, but she never expected him to say something so shameless.
Yi Yun said, “What’s the point of wrangling with such a person. Just let them follow.”
Seven Plume gave a disdainful smile when he saw Yi Yun hold back his temper. This was the absolute repression that strength gave. He could deny Yi Yun from following them because they had the strength because they could destroy him if he followed.
But for Yi Yun, what could he do? All he could do was honestly swallow his pride and turn a blind eye towards their actions.
“Junior Brother Seven Plume, I wonder what mystic technique Yi Yun knows. It’s surprising that he is completely unaffected by the Blood Desert. The Door to the 33 Skies is fraught with dangers, so he might still be of use in later areas.” said a man with a large mole. A glimmer flashed in his eyes when he looked at Yi Yun. He was machinating something against Yi Yun in an attempt to exploit Yi Yun completely.
Seven Plume nodded and said, “I know what you are talking about. Although Yi Yun is somewhat unorthodox, his strength is his weakness. As long as we use this to our advantage, he would have to serve us.”
“It’s great that Junior Brother Seven Plume understands that,” said the man with the mole as he nodded. Suddenly, the muscles on his face turned stiff. His expression froze completely as he came to a sudden stop.
“Oh? Senior Brother, what’s wrong with you?” Seven Plume was momentarily surprised. He stopped and looked at the man behind him. Although the Azure Wood Manor disciples had been following Yi Yun, Seven Plume did not lower his wariness.
The man with the mole did not respond at all. It was odd that he had remained motionless for about ten seconds.
If this had been the beginning when they had just stepped into the Blood Desert, Seven Plume would have opened up a distance from the man when he saw such a situation develop. But now, the situation the man was in was completely different from the few people who had vaporized. Those people had instantly melted, so it was impossible to stop for such a long period of time.
Just as Seven Plume hesitantly released his perception in order to investigate the situation, he saw a stunning scene.
Countless ice crystals slowly emerged out of the man’s body. The ice crystals tore out of his skin, but not a single drop of blood flowed out because it had all frozen. Countless ice crystals began to bloom like peach blossoms, and soon, it covered every inch of the man’s body.
The man did not notice it. In fact, there was no life in him despite him maintaining his standing pose. In just a few seconds, the man’s body was covered in ice as he became an ice sculpture!
On the man’s face, there was still that look of surprise and oddness. Through the refraction and distortion of the ice, it gave people the chills.
What!?
Seven Plume had just been beside the man. He broke out in cold sweat from fear. What was going on!?