Chapter 24

"Hey, where are you going? I really don't understand this Youming Qinghuo. Can you tell me about it?"

"What is the Dusty Edges Pavilion?"

"Can you at least show some basic manners? I'm a person too, can you not ignore me so directly?"

"My master is Sun Wukong, and my second master is Zhu Bajie. Sir, what is your honorable surname?"

"Huh? That's not right! Hey!! Come back!! Where's my Spirit Source Liquid? You bandit, you thug! Give my Spirit Source Liquid back!"

After teasing a few times, Tang Yan suddenly realized and hurriedly chased into the dense forest, but he could no longer find that person's trail. No matter how he cursed or searched, he found no clues.

"Damn, can you be any more shameless!" Tang Yan clenched his fist and slammed it into a tree trunk, his words light but his expression unusually grim. After risking his life to hunt a Golden-Haired Savage Monkey, it was taken away by someone, which was simply outrageous!

The Spirit Source Liquid was not just a life-saving pill; it could also extract the essence of life and absorb negative emotions, which would help the evolution of the Immortal Heaven Derivation Technique and the power of the Extinction Eye.

Tang Yan, not giving up, continued to search in the forest. However, soon, a thin mist began to fill the surrounding woods and gradually became thicker. Initially, Tang Yan was not concerned; it was not unusual for mist to appear in these deep mountains and old forests. But after a moment, he suddenly felt a warm sensation on his forehead, followed by... danger!

A sudden, intense emotion!

Tang Yan, puzzled, couldn't help but touch his forehead, finding nothing unusual, but the warm sensation persisted, and the strange feeling of danger lingered in his heart, refusing to dissipate.

This sudden abnormality left Tang Yan no choice but to be alert and retreat into the dense forest.

The thin mist seemed to envelop the entire area. No matter which direction Tang Yan rushed, he could not escape the mist. After about ten minutes, he suddenly realized that shadows were darting through the surrounding woods at incredible speed.

Are there beast spirits?!

Tang Yan accelerated, leaping onto a lush ancient tree ahead and quickly hiding.

After a short while, four white-robed figures wearing fang masks emerged from the mist, positioning themselves in four directions around where Tang Yan was hiding.

"Is it them?!" Tang Yan's brows furrowed, and his body tensed involuntarily.

"Will you come out on your own, or do we have to force you?" Zhou Linglu raised her head, her cold gaze directly locking onto the branch where Tang Yan was hiding.

Huh? Did they find me? Tang Yan was puzzled. This position completely avoided their line of sight; they shouldn't have been able to find him.

"Tang Yan, come out on your own, or we'll freeze you and this tree into an ice sculpture!" Zhou Linglu's voice was icy cold. The other three white-robed figures raised their hands, and the temperature around them dropped, with crystalline frost rapidly spreading from the branches and leaves.

This girl actually knows my name?

Tang Yan was even more puzzled. After a brief hesitation, he jumped down from the tree and smiled. "Hi, everyone, good afternoon. Looking for me... for something?"

Is this guy's head messed up? I'm here to kill you! Zhou Linglu was furious. In her twenty-some years of life, she had never seen such an extreme person. "Nothing special, just your life."

"Well... I don't really mind. Dying by a beautiful woman's sword, I can accept that. But..."

"But what?"

"My bodyguard doesn't seem to agree."

"Bodyguard? What bodyguard?"

"To put it simply, a personal bodyguard!" Tang Yan walked casually, secretly observing the surroundings and thinking of a way to escape.

Tang Yan's principle in life was never to give up unless it was a dead end.

Zhou Linglu was secretly alert, not because of Tang Yan's threat, but because she had always felt something abnormal while using the Water Curtain Heaven to search for Tang Yan. In a certain area of the entire mist, there was always a tiny blank spot that remained unclear no matter how she searched.

To avoid any unexpected situations, they deliberately surrounded the area from four directions to check for any abnormalities, but found nothing significant.

Could it be someone else sent by the Tang family?

If Tang Yanshan could send Tang Qiong to rescue Tang Yan, he could also send a trusted elder. This was not unusual.

After experiencing the terrifying power of Tang Qiong, she had to be cautious.

Compared to killing Tang Yan, her own life was more important.

"Since you know my name, you should know what kind of person I am. Although I don't have great abilities, I am handsome, charming, kind-hearted, and respectful to the elderly and children, so I am quite favored by the old man. Therefore, he sent someone to protect me."

"Shameless! Where is your bodyguard?"

"Stomach issues, diarrhea, he'll be back soon."

"Kid, are you messing with me?"

"Don't believe me? If you don't, just wait. He might be back soon."

"Is that so? Let's see if he can come back before we kill you. Move!"

The three white-robed figures simultaneously channeled their spiritual energy, causing the temperature around them to plummet. The crystalline frost spread rapidly towards Tang Yan, as if it had a life of its own.

Tang Yan's expression changed. This icy cold air surrounded him from all sides, a completely unrelenting attack. For a mere third-stage Warrior like him, it was like a net of heaven and earth.

"Freeze him into an ice sculpture!" Zhou Linglu urged, while remaining vigilant.

Tang Yan tried to escape, but the frost covered his entire body, and the bone-chilling cold quickly invaded him. He tried to activate the Green Fire, but was shocked to find that his spiritual energy was beginning to slow down. Frustrated, he suddenly roared, "Come out! I know you're nearby! I'll tell you everything I know!"

"Stop playing games!" Zhou Linglu no longer hesitated, and with a sharp cry, "Snowfall, Ice Seal!"

"Snowfall!" The three white-robed figures quickly changed their martial techniques, and the white mist rapidly gathered, turning into snowflakes that silently fell from the sky.

"Come out!!" Tang Yan screamed in anger.

"Save it!"

"Or I'll die!!"

"Die!"

"Come out, you flower wreath-selling bastard!" Tang Yan let out his final roar, but the frost had already covered his lips and frozen his entire body. Pale snowflakes silently fell, about to bury him completely.

"Phew... It's over..." Zhou Linglu let out a long breath, finally resolving this trouble.

However... Suddenly! A silent but piercing sound wave rippled through the air. The frost, cold air, and falling snow instantly vanished. The frost on Tang Yan's body, both inside and out, shattered and disappeared without a sound.

"Ah!!" Everyone was caught off guard, clutching their heads and screaming in pain. The sound wave was extremely bizarre, like an invisible blade tearing at Zhou Linglu and the others' souls.

"Who is it? Come out!" Zhou Linglu and the others were startled awake, enduring the sharp pain in their heads and emitting intense cold energy around them, staring intently at the forest ahead.

"You can't kill this kid for now." A cold, emotionless voice echoed through the forest. In Zhou Linglu's surprised gaze, a man carrying a pale paper figure slowly approached.

"Be careful, this guy is strange!" The three Martial Ancestor-level white-robed figures immediately became alert, sensing a strong threat or a cold, sinister aura from him.

Crack!! The paper figure behind the man began to move slightly, then... the paper figure moved on its own, crawling up the man's back to his head, moving very slowly and stiffly. The blank eyes showed a faint, crimson flicker.

An abnormally evil and cold aura lingered in the forest.

Sss!! Zhou Linglu was startled, a chill running down her spine.

Tang Yan was dumbfounded, looking at the 'revived' paper figure with a mix of fear and shock. This scene was beyond bizarre; it was more terrifying than seeing a ghost.

After a moment, the pupils of the three white-robed figures contracted sharply, and they cried out in shock, "Ren Tianzang?!"

Paper figure? Evil? Yes, it's Ren Tianzang! Zhou Linglu also recalled something, her expression becoming very serious. "Ren Tianzang, this has nothing to do with you. I advise you to leave!"

Ren Tianzang made no response, simply walking past Tang Yan and coldly saying, "Go."

"Eh? Ah!" Tang Yan came to his senses and quickly followed, calming his nerves and turning back to Zhou Linglu with a smile and a wave. "Bye, beautiful lady, your figure is great. I'll definitely appreciate it if there's a chance in the future."

Zhou Linglu did not lose her temper or chase after them. She stood there, staring at Ren Tianzang's back until they disappeared from sight, her face dark and gloomy. "Was the bodyguard Tang Yan mentioned him?"

"Unlikely. The Ren family's monsters usually act alone and rarely have connections with others, especially noble families."

"Ren Tianzang, as the current heir of the Ren family, is proud and cold, and would not become a 'bodyguard.'"

"It's possible that something on Tang Yan caught his interest, or they may have reached some kind of agreement."

"Master, should we chase after them?"

"Do you think we can match Ren Tianzang?" Zhou Linglu was reluctant but never acted rashly. After a moment's thought, she said, "The situation has become complicated. Let's meet up with Uncle Hua and discuss this further."