Chương 210: Chapter 209: Splitting Up

"How dare you spy on the disciple of Boundless Sword Sect?" Yang almost trembled in excitement. Is this my first encounter with a Young Master? The young man before them was tall, carrying himself with great confidence; Yang would even call him handsome as well if it weren't for the ugly sneer twisting his features. Apparently, they didn't answer quickly enough for the Young Master's personal retinue, as one of them got red in the face, stepped forward, and jabbed a finger at Senior Brother Fan Xiao.

"How dare you ignore Brother Gu Lao?" Instead of anger, Yang noticed mirth flicker in all his Senior Brothers' eyes, although none of their lips so much as twitched. These idiots, Yang thought, shaking his head. Performing their little power play in front of the most dangerous cultivator in their group. Truly remarkable lack of self-preservation.

"Young fellow daoist," Senior Brother Song Weilong spoke calmly with a small smile.

"What is this about spying? We were just flying. Weren't it you and your friends who changed directions once you noticed us?" The Young Master clearly didn't appreciate being talked back to as he glared at them arrogantly before he started looking constipated as his fists clenched and his face started flushing red. Yang watched, concerned that the poor man would topple off his sword.

"My turn," Senior Brother Zhen Hao declared, stepping forward, and immediately all seven idiots surrounding them dropped to their knees upon their wobbling swords. Oh. Yang thought as he realised he may have missed the idiot man exerting pressure on them. Given that Senior Brother Zhen Hao brought them to their knees with a mere gaze, they couldn't be more than foundation level, yet they wanted to act mighty in front of Senior Brother Fan Xiao and the rest. They really had some abysmal luck.

"Senior, forgive us!"

"We offended, Seniors."

"We beg for mercy." They all cried out to Senior Brother Zhen Hao, pleading frantically as they finally grasped that they had provoked something beyond their power. Senior Brother Zhen Hao maintained the pressure as he came forward in front of their leader and leaned down until his face was inches away from the trembling young man.

"I forgive you," he said with a forgiving smile.

"But what about you offending my Senior Brothers?" he asked in a curious, almost conversational tone. The man's eyes widened in terror as he realized what that meant. As if on cue, they all dropped their heads in prostration.

"Seniors, forgive us."

"We were blind."

"What do you think we should do with them, Senior Brother?" Senior Brother Yuan Shen asked Senior Brother Fan Xiao with a deceptive smile. It was Senior Brother Qing An who answered instead.

"Junior Brothers, since they have so generously delivered themselves to us, it would be rude to not make some use of them."

"Perhaps Senior Brother can use them in some of his alchemy experiments." Senior Brother Zhen Hao mused, tapping his chin. Senior Brother Qing An nodded seriously.

"Indeed, our dear Senior Brother is frequently in need of subjects to test his more... ambitious concoctions." With each word, Yang could watch the terror of these cultivators grow leaps and bounds until they were shaking so violently Yang worried they just might vibrate right off their swords. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. Senior Brother Fan Xiao just watched quietly without so much as a twitch on his face until he suddenly raised his hand.

The so-called Young Master vanished from his position and reappeared in an instant in front of Senior Brother Fan Xiao with his forehead pressed against the tip of Senior Brother Fan Xiao's raised index finger. Yang heard screams, but he was too absorbed in watching what Senior Brother was doing with the guy to pay them any mind. The cultivator's face contorted in pain as Senior Brother delved into his mind before casually tossing him away like trash. He then yanked another one towards him, repeating the process.

He kept at it until he was done with all of them, leaving the entire group suspended unconscious in midair.

"You read their minds?" Yang murmured.

"That was soul searching, Chen Yang." Senior Brother Song Weilong spoke next to him.

"Don't worry, they will be fine once they wake up, aside from short-term memory loss. We are not so ruthless as to kill stupid juniors merely for offending us with words." Senior Brother Fan Xiao flicked his sleeve, and all of them were shot down along with their flying swords, leaving their… was that their storage treasures? Yang thought as he found five floating pouches and two storage rings"You three take them."

Senior Brother Fan Xiao said as he sent two of the storage treasures towards Yang and Senior Brother Yuan Shen while Senior Brother Zhen Hao received the remaining three. Yang caught one of the pouches and the storage ring in his hand and looked down, examining them curiously. Senior Brother Song Weilong reached out and tapped both of them, making them give off a brief red glow without taking them out of his hand.

"Now you can access the contents."

"Thank you, Senior Brother," Yang said, tucking both items into his sleeve. They then flew closer to Senior Brother Fan Xiao, where the rest of them reconvened.

"What did you find?" asked Senior Brother Song Weilong.

"They are members of a sect called Boundless Sword Sect." Senior Brother Fan Xiao began his tone turning wry.

"Apparently, the people in their sect and a few others have been entering this secret realm every century, using it as a training ground." Senior Brother Qing An's expression turned perplexed.

"We just discovered the entrance. How could they have been entering through it? Even if they were in the past, how did they do so now without our people noticing?"

"That's the thing. They came from another way." Senior Brother Fan Xiao said dryly.

"Another entrance?" Senior Brother Zhen Hao asked with a grin.

"Shouldn't we follow them then?" Yang couldn't help but ask, eager to escape this place. Senior Brother Fan Xiao shook his head.

"They know another way into the connected world. This remnant. Not the secret realm connected to our own world." Senior Brother Qing An let out an expletive.

"This place just keeps getting more and more complicated. It would have been better if we had never discovered it to begin with."

"So what you are saying is this remnant, which, again to remind everyone, we believe is corrupted, is connected to two different places." Senior Brother Song Weilong summarized.

"Two different worlds," Fan Xiao confirmed.

"They know of completely different continents than the ones we are aware of."

"Creating a bridge between the two." Senior Brother Yuan Shen muttered darkly.

"Yes. I intend to advise the sect to either detach the connected world if possible or destroy the secret realm itself, if not." Senior Brother Fan Xiao added before he continued.

"For now, let's investigate their side of the remnant world. Apparently there are hundreds of Foundation Establishment and lower realm disciples of more than a dozen sects here in search of opportunities."

"Why only Foundation Establishment and below?" Yang asked, curious.

"Someone probably added a limitation on that side's entrance to prevent their testing ground from being stripped of all resources." Senior Brother Qing An chuckled darkly. Senior Brother Fan Xiao just looked thoughtful.

"There is a forest where, deeper in, there are said to be creatures as strong as the Nascent Souls." He turned to Senior Brother Zhen Hao.

"You will go there with Yuan Shen and Weilong. After all, we brought you here to play with your newfound strength. We may as well make use of the place while we are here." Before his gaze shifted to Senior Brother Song Weilong.

"Weilong, you will ensure these two keep to creatures within their cultivation range." Senior Brother Song Weilong nodded obediently. He then turned to Yang.

"Chen Yang, you will go down and look for treasures like the rest of those sect disciples." Senior Brother Fan Xiao said simply. Yang blinked in surprise.

"Me? Alone?"

"Yes. You alone." Senior Brother Fan Xiao's tone brooked no argument.

"They are at most Foundation Establishment. If needed, you can flee from them. How will you learn if we are always there to protect you? You have the talisman I gave you. Use it if you are about to die." Yang acquiesced with a nod. He had grown comfortable under his Senior Brothers' protection, coasting through their shared trials while they bore the brunt of the danger. Perhaps it was time to test himself.

"Qing An will accompany me to look for a rift back to our own world." Senior Brother Qing An just let out an amused smile in response. They all stood together for a few moments in silence before Senior Brother Fan Xiao turned to all of them with a deadpan expression.

"Are you all waiting for a written invitation?" Immediately, Senior Brothers Song Weilong, Zhen Hao, and Yuan Shen fled on their swords with Senior Brother Zhen Hao calling over his shoulder to Yang.

"I will save all the beast cores for you, Junior Brother." Yang smiled at that and gave a bow to Senior Brothers Fan Xiao and Qing An before guiding his carpet downward, scanning the terrain below for a safe place to land.