Chương 337: Standoff with Bai Zijun

Long Feng was absolutely gobsmacked at the rewards. Over two hundred heaven runes… the resources he could purchase with those would not be little. As for the low grade essence stones, he was now an Imperial realm master. Normally, only rank seven Imperials and above could dare to absorb an essence stone after much preparations, but Long Feng was confident that he could achieve the same with minimal preparations.

The warden expressionlessly collected Long Feng's identity token and transfered the full two hundred and fifty heaven runes to him, then handed over the low grade essence stones in a void ring.

"I must admit, I didn't think you would survive the mission, not to mention completing it after it rose to the level of two star missions." The warden casually commented and glanced at Long Feng.

"You should prepare yourself though. I've heard a bit about your recent actions, and you certainly are a surprising fellow. But Bai Zijun is back, and it is unknown what he would do once he hears about your return. You'd best figure out a way to escape before he find out and rears his head." Long Feng's eyelids twitched slightly as he heard this. He had already anticipated this. Bai Zijun had truly returned… He nodded and thanked the warden for the warning before he left the hall with a frown etched on his face.

His return wasn't exactly a secret. Many disciples met him along the way and those who recognized him had all expressed surprise at seeing him. Bai Zijun should hear about his return in a short time. Sighing helplessly, Long Feng returned to his pavilion. He planned to take a quick shower before things heated up beyond his control. He took his time and strolled back to the pavilion. His mind was filled whirling with different plans and thoughts on what he could do against Bai Zijun along the way.

As he approached his pavilion, he paused and stared ahead with a cold expression directed at the few figures waiting on the path that led to his home. Their auras were unrestrained, whipping up a powerful air current around them. They were five in numbers, and each of them were top tier among peak Imperials. They already sensed Long Feng's approach and they calmly directed cold stares at him. Long Feng didn't need to think at all; they weren't here for anything good.

He resumed his steps and walked straight towards them, not changing his path at all. A minute later, they were barely twenty meters away from each other. Long Feng calmly scrutinized the five of them with his indifferent gaze. Between they, Yun Fei and Zhou Kui, Long Feng didn't know who was ranked higher on the Mortal ranking, but he didn't care. Right now, only deities would be able to threaten him, and perhaps the absolute monstrous geniuses of the peak Imperial realm.

A few seconds of buildings tension later, the five finished scanning him and revealed sneers on their faces.

"Heh. This is the brat that defeated that Bai Lixi? Hmph. I always thought Bai Lixi was trash, but I didn't expect he was so big a trash than I anticipated." One of them sneered.

"You have no idea. Without his brother standing behind him, that idiot would've died a long time ago."

"Do not run your mouths. Killing Bai Lixi in a single move is something only a peak Imperial can achieve no matter what. Let's do what brought us here and quit wasting time." The youth in between the five said then focused his gaze on Long Feng.

"Long Feng right? I'm sure you are curious as to who we are." He spat. Long Feng barely glanced at him.

"I'm not interested in knowing. Get out of my way." He coldly replied. The youth froze for a second before he smiled faintly.

"I am Yu Xiang, ranked fifty on the Mortal ranking. These four are ranked respectively after me, fifty one two fifty four." He introduced himself anyway even with Long Feng's words. Long Feng's eyes narrowed as he stared at Yu Xiang with irritation brimming in his heart. Yu Xiang continued.

"We bring information and a deal to you." He began.

"The serene heaven mystic realm is opening in four days, and you're granted entry as well. That is naturally good news to anyone else, but not to you. In fact, It's the exact opposite to you; extreme bad luck." The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Long Feng frowned faintly and felt his irritation lessening.

"What do you mean?" He questioned.

"What I mean is simple. You killed Bai Zijun's beloved brother, and he can't avenge him unless you're in the ring. But you're now entering the serene heaven mystic realm, and so is he." Long Feng's frown faded and he tilted his head slightly to the right.

"You're saying he might try to kill me there?" Yu Xiang gently shook his head.

"No. I'm saying he will kill you there. Mystic realms have always been lands of Fortune, but fortune has always gone hand in hand with extreme danger. Even deities have failed to return from mystic realms before. A mystic realm is the perfect place to commit any crime and get away easily as long as there's no witnesses nor proof." Long Feng had long since understood what Yu Xiang was saying, he just wanted to hear it from his mouth.

"Oh." He faked a pondering look on his face.

"And how exactly does telling me all these profit you? I doubt you'll come all the way to warn me out of goodwill."

"Indeed. In your current situation, you're undoubted feeling trapped. You have two choices here as I see it."

"What are those choices?"

"You either choose to go into the mystic realm either way and hope you don't run into Bai Zijun. I'll tell you now that it's a foolish decision. Bai Zijun will be set on finding you to kill you if you dare to enter the mystic realm. We both know that your chances of surviving is slim to none." Yu Xiang stated straightforwardly.

"Hm. What's my second choice?"

"The second choice…" Yu Xiang paused for a second with a slightly heated gaze.

"You can give up your spot. That's all you need to do and you'll be safe from Bai Zijun. And we won't let you give up empty handed. We five will compensate you greatly. You'll have double wins; you get to stay safe and you'll also receive compensation." Long Feng nodded, already expecting exactly those words.

"I suppose if I give my spot up, you as the fiftieth person on the mortal ranking will be given the spot next." Yu Xiang didn't deny it.

"That's right. And they have agreed not to challenge me for the spot and in exchange, I'll share whatever I get in the mystic realm with them." He added. Long Feng could understand why Yu Xiang would agree to such demands. Their rankings were just figures apart; their strengths probably wouldn't be much different from each other. If they challenged him, perhaps he would be forced to concede the spot as well.

"I understand." Yu Xiang's expression brightened.

"I'm sure you will make the best decision that'll benefit everyone. What do you think?"

"I think…" Long Feng slowly began and all five youths waited eagerly to hear his response. The chance to enter the serene heaven mystic realm meant more than Long Feng could imagine to them. If Yu Xiang was lucky, he could find some peak treasures that could help them all become deities in a very short time. Such treasures existed, like the true essence pill, which was a peak mortal grade pill which could help a peak Imperial to form true essence and become a deity within days.

Such treasures had an irresistible pull on nearly all peak Imperials who were stuck at the Imperial realm. They would literally do anything for a true essence pill. But right before Long Feng could speak, a surge of aura rushed over, causing all six of them to stagger and barely expel the aura from their bodies. A silent pressure descended upon the surroundings, causing Long Feng's expression to change instantly.

"A deity?" He muttered, his mind going on high alert instantly. Yu Xiang and the other four also felt heavy as the aura appeared, causing deep unease to fill their hearts.

"This aura, could it be…" Yu Xiang's heart began to pound against his chest. Faint sounds of footsteps filled their ears at that moment. They all turned their attention to the direction of the sounds. A young man donning a red attire slowly walked over. His facial expression was unreadable and his aura basically slowed down the air flow around him, making breathing hard. Each step he took seemed to land on the hearts of the six youths before him, causing their hearts to beat in strange sync with his footsteps.

Long Feng was only able to cancel that strange response due to his powerful sword intent and his ethereal sword heart. He took a step back with his brows furrowed as he cautiously watched the approaching young man. The young man walked over till he was mere meters away from the six of them. The pressure he emitted was now so dense that Yu Xiang and the other four felt their knees shaking ever so slightly. Yu Xiang's mind was chaotic as he stared at the young man.

"B-bai Zijun!" He exclaimed in his heart. Bai Zijun was extremely powerful. His ranking among the ten deities said everything about his strength. Some powerful peak Imperials like crimson Chen could escape from deities, but those deities in question were undoubtedly inferior to the top ten outer peak disciples. They cultivated top cultivation manuals that only inner peak disciples could get, their Dao comprehensions were all nothing to scoff at and their skills and techniques were shocking to say the least.

Crimson Chen would've died ten out of ten times if he ran into Bai Zijun; there was no chance that he would escape. The difference could be seen in this. The pressure Bai Zijun emanated was like standing before a huge mountain. Peak imperials just couldn't compare. Bai Zijun didn't spare a glance at Yu Xiang and his friends. He focused his calm gaze on Long Feng. The pressure Long Feng had to endure was naturally enormous, but he didn't flinch.

He met Bai Zijun's stare and his serious pupils collided against Bai Zijun's calm pupils. Bai Zijun looked calm on the outside, but inside was a different story. His fury and hatred was boiling like lava from the moment he heard that Long Feng had returned, and as he stared at him now, it only got worse. It took all of his willpower to keep those emotions in check and prevent his killing intent from spilling out. He took a deep breath and averted his gaze slightly.

The more he stared at Long Feng's disgusting face, the harder it was to control the rising killing intent and the urge to slap Long Feng to death on the spot.

"Long Feng, you killed my brother." He calmly stated as though he had no emotions. Only he could tell the amount of effort it took to say that without releasing any emotions. Long Feng had already regained his bearing. From the moment Bai Zijun arrived, Long Feng had already guessed his identity. His words only served to confirm that guess. Sounding as calm as possible, Long Feng replied, "He tried to kill me without-" Bai Zijun's gaze returned to his face and he interrupted coldly.

"I don't care about your explanations. You will pay with your life. You can make things less painful for yourself if you follow me to the ring right now. You'll die painlessly and it'll be over." He calmly stated. Long Feng's eyes instantly narrowed and he got rid of the idea that he could resolve things simply and reasonably. Indeed, Bai Lixi was so unreasonable. Who could he have gotten that from? Bai Zijun was definitely even worse.

"I should've known that reason doesn't apply to some people. You want me to follow you to the ring? Sure. Once I become a deity, I'll find you. As of right now, I'm not feeling suicidal just yet." He sneered and replied, peeling his gaze away from Bai Zijun's face. Bai Zijun's chuckled softly and accidentally spilled some of his killing intent.

"Good. I expected no less. Whether you follow me or not, It doesn't matter. I will kill you in the most excruciating way possible. You will beg for death and it won't come easily." Long Feng turned around and paused.

"Go fuck yourself." He muttered before he began to walk towards his pavilion. Bai Zijun froze for a few seconds as his facial muscles twitched. The killing intent flaring in his eyes was so intense that it frightened the sense out of Yu Xiang and his friends.

"Don't worry. If you dare to enter the serene heaven mystic realm, then I will make sure it becomes your grave." He suppressed his emotions and turned calm once again, recalling the repeated warnings of his uncle. Snorting softly, he turned around and walked away, leaving Yu Xiang and the other four drenched in sweat with trembling legs.