Chapter 54

"Devil with a Hundred Eyes?" Ximen Shuai turned his head and saw a purple cloud rapidly moving towards the Emerald Valley. Shocked, he immediately rode the Qiankun Ring and fled.

The three did not hesitate and immediately fled. The Devil with a Hundred Eyes landed in the Emerald Valley and let out a mournful roar. The purple cloud above his head quickly chased after the four, and a large hand extended from the purple cloud, reaching out to grab the four who were flying close to the ground.

Lin Fan was running at the front, but he was gradually being caught up by the other three. He had used the Heaven-Sky Shrinking Spell twice, and although the distance was not far, it had consumed a lot of true qi, so he dared not use it again. He could only ride the bamboo sword to escape. Zhang Tongyuan was the fastest, riding his sword and fully utilizing the speed of the White Rainbow Sword. Next was Ximen Shuai, riding the Qiankun Ring, and the last was Juesai.

"Return my beloved wife to me!" A voice pursued them, clearly very angry.

Juesai shouted, "Your wife isn't dead; she's in the house. Look for her again."

The large hand from the purple cloud reached for Juesai, who was shocked, "I was just joking. Your wife's body is with that little Taoist."

The large hand emitted a purple lightning bolt towards Lin Fan. Lin Fan scattered beans to create soldiers, and the clones intercepted the lightning, which exploded and shattered. Ximen Shuai, now level with Lin Fan, said, "The Devil with a Hundred Eyes may have already mastered the Body Splitting Technique. Seek your own fortune." Only after reaching the perfect state of the yuan ying could one practice the body splitting technique, which was not an illusion but a true clone. The Devil with a Hundred Eyes had already entered the Lesser Vehicle realm and was a master of a sect, with countless magical treasures and spells. He was absolutely not someone the four of them could match. The clone might not look like the Devil with a Hundred Eyes himself; the clone of the Devil with a Hundred Eyes was this purple cloud.

"Run separately!" Zhang Tongyuan, who was running the fastest, reminded them. Although these three were detestable and had stolen his things, he did not want to see them die here.

Lin Fan held the fox corpse in his left hand and regretted not having a Qiankun Bag to hide it. If he had a Qiankun Bag, why would he still be holding it?

Ximen Shuai, the most composed, said, "Enter the evil sect's gate and trigger the magical array to block the enemy." This was a last resort. Rushing into the evil sect's magical array and then triggering it, the purple cloud, being the strongest, would definitely be the first to suffer the array's attack. However, this method would likely trap them as well. The gate's magical array was not something an ordinary expert could withstand. If it could block the purple cloud, it would be easy to eliminate one of the four.

"Seek your own fortune, I'm off." Juesai suddenly turned, and a Dharma Guardian appeared to block the large hand from the purple cloud, then quickly split and fled.

People die for wealth, and birds die for food. Lin Fan considered giving the corpse to Zhang Tongyuan, but at this point, it would harm Zhang Tongyuan. The purple cloud was coming with great force, and if it targeted one person, there would be no escape. If discarding the corpse could make the purple cloud give up its pursuit, he would definitely do it.

Ximen Shuai shouted, and the Qiankun Ring expanded, striking the purple cloud. The purple cloud paused, and a hundred purple thunderbolts flew out from the cloud, directly putting the Qiankun Ring to sleep. Ximen Shuai sighed, "I can only help you this much." He rode the ancient sword and split and fled. If it were earlier, Ximen Shuai would have thought Lin Fan was greedy for treasure, but now he knew that Lin Fan couldn't get rid of this hot potato.

Giving it to himself or Zhang Tongyuan would be unjust, and leaving it on the ground would be useless. If someone picked up the corpse, they would still pursue. The purple cloud's goal was revenge, not to seize the corpse. Because Lin Fan was carrying the corpse, he became the target.

Zhang Tongyuan also understood the gravity of the situation, flying to one side to let Lin Fan pass. He did not mention taking the corpse, knowing he couldn't handle it. He had not reached the level of sacrificing himself for a fellow Daoist. As for Lin Fan, he was similar to Zhang Tongyuan. If Zhang Tongyuan took it, he would not sacrifice himself to block the purple cloud. But he couldn't frame Zhang Tongyuan either.

Zhang Tongyuan shouted, "Twenty miles ahead, there is a miasma fog." He then used his sword to clash with the purple cloud, hoping to delay it and give Lin Fan enough time.

"Thank you!" Lin Fan smiled bitterly. Twenty miles? He would be dead within ten miles. Besides, entering the miasma fog might not be better than facing the purple cloud. Who knew what demons and monsters were in there.

Lin Fan performed a spell, and the Green Jade Buddha Knife flew out, blocking the purple cloud again. However, it was quickly destroyed by the purple thunder and fell to the ground, dormant. At this point, Lin Fan saw the dense fog ahead. He looked back, gritted his teeth, and activated the Heaven-Sky Shrinking Spell, running at full speed. As he approached the fog, his true qi was completely depleted, and he couldn't muster any more. The purple cloud released a barrage of purple thunder, and several bolts hit Lin Fan. The jade pendant he wore on his chest shattered. This was a protective jade pendant given to him by San San Zhenren. According to legend, the jade could protect the wearer from disaster, and if it shattered, it meant it had saved the wearer from a calamity.

"Die for a fellow Daoist, not for oneself," Lin Fan recalled the ten true words San San Zhenren had told him. He smiled bitterly, knowing he couldn't do it, and it was a fitting punishment for his greed. Just as he thought this, Lin Fan was thrown into the fog by the explosion of the purple thunder. The purple cloud paused outside the fog, hesitated for a moment, and finally did not pursue further.

...

Lin Fan woke up and looked around. He was in a small wooden house, and he was still alive. He tried to circulate his true qi, but he couldn't muster any. He used his divine sense to check his foundation, and the lotus seed was withered. According to the literature, this was the reaction after suffering a severe injury. He could only wait for the lotus seed to recover before he could circulate his true qi.

Lin Fan moved his body, and it was manageable. He wobbled to his feet, pushed open the wooden door, and saw a woman in rough clothes adding firewood to a stove outside. The stove was boiling medicine, and the fragrance of the medicine filled the air. The woman heard the noise, turned her head, and said with surprise, "You're awake?"

Lin Fan took a step back. He didn't judge people by their appearance, but this woman was too ugly. Her face was free of soot, her voice was pleasant, and her features were regular. So what was wrong? Her face was covered in bumps, some of which were even oozing pus.

The woman, seeing Lin Fan's reaction, immediately covered her face with one hand, "Did I scare you?"

"Um... no, you saved me?"

"No, it was Grandma who saved you." The woman said, "Please sit for a moment. I'll go tell Grandma. By the way, Grandma has a request, so please agree to it, remember that."

Lin Fan was puzzled but nodded and sat on a stone chair. The environment here was average. There was a mud pit in front of the house, emitting a foul smell, and the fog was thick half a mile away. Even here, only withered trees could be seen. The environment was as detestable as the woman's appearance.

After half a cup of tea, a woman in her fifties and the ugly woman walked out of the fog. Although she was old, she wore a red silk robe with wide sleeves and a red silk ribbon tied around her head. The old woman walked to Lin Fan, looked at him for a while, and nodded, "Not bad."

"May I ask if you are a witch?" Lin Fan bowed and asked.

Witches were recorded in the Spring and Autumn Annals as people who performed sacrifices and prayed for rain. The Classic of Mountains and Seas recorded that witches held a green snake in their left hand and a red snake in their right. In the cultivation world, witches existed, but whether they were from the evil, righteous, or Buddhist sects, they all kept their distance from witches. In the cultivation world, witches were called the Witch Clan, referring to a group that practiced a specific spell or revered a deity, who then abandoned them. They were not exclusively female, as these groups all had witches who performed sacrifices, hence the name Witch Clan. For example, the people of the Hou Tu Clan, if they had children, the mother would die a hundred days after giving birth, but they were also granted the ability to predict the future. Because of this, the Witch Clan was almost completely extinct.

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