Bang! Bang!
Just as Ling Feng was at a loss, feeling bewildered, a deafening clang of metal suddenly reached his ears.
Immediately after, the wind blades that had been sweeping towards him like an overwhelming tide miraculously vanished into thin air.
Despite this, the small sword, glinting with a sharp cold light, still mercilessly grazed Ling Feng’s cheek, leaving a shocking trail of blood.
“Junior Brother Ling Feng, are you alright?”
Hearing the voice of concern from behind him, Ling Feng didn’t even need to turn around; he knew who it was just from the sound—it was none other than Zhang Da Niu.
“Senior Brother Zhang, I’m fine.” Only when Zhang Da Niu approached his side did Ling Feng finally compose himself slightly and respond softly.
At this point, the heart that had been lodged in his throat finally calmed down a bit.
It turned out that Zhang Da Niu, seeing that it was getting late and Ling Feng had not returned for a long time, worried that he might encounter a Yao Beast, so he first sent the Utility Disciples back with the Spiritual Plants they had gathered, while he himself searched along the way.
It wasn’t until he heard the sounds of fighting from this direction that Zhang Da Niu hurriedly flew over on his Flying Sword.
As soon as he landed, he saw Ling Feng, who was being besieged, about to be overwhelmed, and only then did he intervene to help him out of the predicament.
“I wonder how Junior Brother Ling Feng offended you Senior Brothers? Junior Brother Ling Feng has just entered the Sect and still has many things he doesn’t understand.
Today’s matter is entirely due to my poor discipline, and I sincerely apologize to all Senior Brothers here.
I hope all Senior Brothers will show mercy, and for the sake of Senior Sister Yu He, please forgive him this time.”
Seeing that Ling Feng had only suffered injuries to his cheek and was not in mortal danger, Zhang Da Niu finally breathed a sigh of relief, then turned to the crowd, cupped his fists, and pleaded earnestly.
“Zhang Da Niu, you’re meddling too much! Even if you bring up Yu He, what do I have to fear?
That brat dared to injure me; how can this matter be settled so easily?” The person snorted disdainfully.
“You’re spewing nonsense!” Ling Feng roared, then turned to stare at Zhang Da Niu, indignantly saying, “Senior Brother Zhang, they were the ones who provoked and attacked first.”
Zhang Da Niu frowned deeply and lowered his voice, telling Ling Feng, “Junior Brother Ling Feng, please bear with it for now. We’ll discuss this further after we return.”
He paused for a moment, his gaze sweeping over everyone, then said to the Senior Brother named Duan Yuan, “Senior Brother Duan Yuan, in my humble opinion, your injuries don’t seem severe. Perhaps it would be more appropriate to settle this matter now.
Otherwise, if Senior Sister Yu He is alarmed, I’m afraid none of you will escape punishment.”
“Stop? Hmph, you certainly think it’s easy! Don’t try to scare me with Yu He. Let me tell you, my backer is Senior Brother Guo Jin!”
Zhang Da Niu couldn’t help but frown, thinking to himself, “This Duan Yuan fellow is truly shameless, actually bringing up Guo Jin, the First True Disciple.”
He cursed under his breath, but still replied, “So, what is your proposal?”
Seeing that Zhang Da Niu wasn’t angry, Duan Yuan slowly said, “I am currently severely injured, and you’ve seen the situation with your own eyes. I, Duan, am not an unreasonable person. If he is willing to compensate for some losses, this matter can indeed be reconciled.”
“I see, this is easy to resolve. Senior Brother Duan, please tell me directly how many Spirit Stones you need, and I, Zhang Da Niu, will personally deliver them tomorrow morning.”
After a brief thought, Zhang Da Niu readily agreed, while secretly thinking, “You’re causing trouble in the outer Sect, aren’t you just trying to collect protection fees? I’ll give it to you; consider it spending money to avert disaster.”
Duan Yuan sneered, shaking his head, “Junior Brother Zhang, I’m afraid you misunderstand. I don’t want Spirit Stones.”
“Oh? Then… what does Senior Brother Duan mean?” Zhang Da Niu’s brows furrowed upon hearing this, and he looked at Duan Yuan with a puzzled expression, his heart beginning to feel uneasy.
“What I want is the three-leaf qingzhi in his hand.” Duan Yuan’s gaze was fixed on Ling Feng, a greedy smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.
Ling Feng immediately cursed upon hearing this, “You’re dreaming! If you have the guts, come and take it!”
three-leaf qingzhi?
After hearing “three-leaf qingzhi,” a hint of surprise flashed in Zhang Da Niu’s eyes, then quickly disappeared.
He sneered, “Senior Brother Duan, three-leaf qingzhi is extremely rare; this kind of Spiritual Plant is priceless.
Senior Brother, your appetite is a bit too ugly, isn’t it!”
“My appetite is indeed a bit ugly, but you must understand, there are only two of you. How can you withstand an attack from six of us?”
After speaking, the six exchanged smiles.
With a “boom,” the six launched their attack without waiting for Zhang Da Niu’s reply.
Duan Yuan sent two people to entangle Zhang Da Niu, while he and the remaining three joined forces to snatch the basket on Ling Feng’s back.
Bang! Bang!
The sounds of attack echoed endlessly in the air. Although Zhang Da Niu fought hard, the opponents were too numerous and their Cultivation was superior to his, so he quickly fell into a passive position.
As for Ling Feng, facing four people alone, he had no combat experience, so he could only dodge repeatedly, avoiding the four’s attacks.
In just a short while, Zhang Da Niu couldn’t hold on, being forced to retreat repeatedly, and was injured several times by the combined efforts of the two.
Seeing this, Ling Feng was extremely anxious, thinking that Zhang Da Niu’s arrival would help him out of his predicament, but he didn’t expect him to also fall into a bitter struggle and be unable to protect himself.
For a moment, his mind was uneasy, and Ling Feng was almost stabbed by Duan Yuan’s sword. “For a Spiritual Plant, you actually try to kill fellow Disciples. Duan Yuan, you all deserve to die.”
A Disciple sneered, “An innocent man is guilty because of his treasure. You’re not ignorant of this principle. Blame yourself for possessing a rare Spiritual Plant.”
“You back-door guy, don’t worry, I won’t let you die like this. I’ll come teach you a lesson every day, making you suffer torment until you die.” Duan Yuan sneered and struck out with a palm.
Ling Feng was unable to dodge and was hit in the shoulder by a palm, which caused his Qi and blood to churn, forcing him to retreat several steps before he could stabilize his body.
Ling Feng heard him mention “back-door guy” several times, and his tone clearly carried a hint of resentment. He couldn’t help but ponder, “Could it be that some people didn’t enter the Sect through the talent test? If not, why would he hold such a grudge?”
While pondering, he heard a powerful Sword Qi whistling from the side. Ling Feng was truly enraged. Instead of retreating, he advanced, enduring the sword stab, and threw a punch.
With a “bang,” he sent Duan Yuan flying with a punch, while his left shoulder was also pierced by a sword, revealing the stark white bone.
Unbeknownst to him, Ling Feng slowly learned how to fight in actual combat, and his movements became incredibly swift. He repeatedly pressed forward, sending the other three flying.
Pfft!
On the other side, Zhang Da Niu could no longer resist and suddenly spat out a mouthful of fresh blood.
Ling Feng quickly ran over and stood in front of Zhang Da Niu. At this moment, the two opponents each threw a punch, hitting Ling Feng on both shoulders.
At the same time, Ling Feng also raised both hands and punched out with both fists simultaneously, repelling the two by five steps before stabilizing himself.
Ling Feng only felt a slight numbness and dull pain in his shoulders, with no other discomfort.
Only the sword wound on his left shoulder continuously seeped blood, staining half of his sleeve red.
“Senior Brother, you go first!” Ling Feng untied the basket from his back and handed it to Zhang Da Niu.
“Junior Brother Ling Feng…”
“Sigh! Be careful yourself. I’ll go find Senior Sister Yu He now.” Zhang Da Niu knew he no longer had the ability to fight, and even if he stayed, he wouldn’t be of much help.
Furthermore, he had witnessed Ling Feng fighting four people alone and still being able to advance and retreat freely, so he believed Ling Feng would surely be able to wait for reinforcements to arrive.
Therefore, he no longer insisted, put the basket on his back, and retreated first with the Spiritual Plants Ling Feng had gathered.
Just at this moment, Duan Yuan and the others were preparing to give chase, but Ling Feng quickly blocked them. Ling Feng effortlessly lifted the thick, thigh-sized tree trunk that had fallen to the ground and swept it out forcefully.
Since he began to Cultivate, Ling Feng’s strength had become extraordinarily immense, allowing him to easily lift a tree trunk weighing several hundred pounds. However, Ling Feng himself was unaware of this change.
At this moment, he had only one firm belief in his heart: he must block these six people no matter what, ensuring Zhang Da Niu’s successful escape.
Because as long as Zhang Da Niu escaped, Duan Yuan and the others would have some reservations.
This way, even if Ling Feng couldn’t stop them and was captured, at most he would just get a beating and suffer some superficial injuries; at least his life would not be in danger.
As Ling Feng vigorously swung the tree trunk back and forth, a strong wind howled, forming a powerful barrier that hindered the crowd’s pursuit of Zhang Da Niu.
The lush branches and leaves on the tree trunk rustled in the strong wind. However, after several such vigorous swings by Ling Feng, these branches and leaves fell off, and the once verdant tree trunk instantly became bare.
At the same time, everyone unleashed their Flying Sword techniques, continuously attacking Ling Feng.
Under the fierce attacks of the Flying Swords, even the small branches could not escape, falling off one by one. Eventually, only a bare tree trunk remained.
In Duan Yuan’s palm, a powerful and pure True Qi slowly flowed, swirling like mist.
With a thought, this True Qi quickly condensed into a blazing fireball.
He let out a fierce roar and forcefully threw the fireball forward.
The fireball, like a burning meteor, shot out rapidly with a fierce Aura, accurately hitting the large tree in front of it.
In an instant, fire shot into the sky, and raging flames engulfed the entire tree.
The fire was incredibly fierce, as if it wanted to devour everything.
In just the blink of an eye, the once tall and upright tree trunk was burned into a pile of ashes, with only a small remnant still emitting wisps of smoke.
After confirming that Zhang Da Niu had completely disappeared from sight, Ling Feng finally gave up on attacking the half-burnt tree trunk, casually swung it, and threw it towards the six people.
Immediately after, he turned without hesitation and sprinted to the right.