Chapter 79

"Southern Wasteland Dragon Emperor City? I didn't expect us to be fellow travelers." Gu Fei said in surprise, thinking how coincidental this was! Could Ling Yan and the others have actually expanded their business to that desolate land in the Southern Wasteland?

If Nangong Chu knew what the Houtian Trade Group was, he wouldn't find it strange. The Houtian Trade Group could be considered the largest trade group on the Tenglong Continent.

The tentacles of the Houtian Trade Group had almost reached every place on the continent where humans lived, from the Central Plains' three countries, the Western Buddhist lands, the Northern Magic Domain, to even the mysterious and ethereal Fengdu Ghost City, which was said to be nothing more than a legend, all had business dealings with the Houtian Trade Group.

"Oh? Brother Gu is also heading to the Southern Wasteland? We are indeed on the same path. Why don't we travel together? It would be good to have each other's support." Ling Luoyan was somewhat surprised when she heard this, and then she was delighted.

If the Houtian Trade Group could establish a relationship with one of the three major Daoist sects, the Tai Xuan Sect, through Gu Fei, it would undoubtedly be a great blessing for the Houtian Trade Group.

"Very well!" This was Gu Fei's first time leaving the mountain; he had no idea how to get to the Southern Wasteland. Ling Luoyan's suggestion suited his intentions perfectly. Traveling with Ling Luoyan's caravan would ensure he could reach Dragon Emperor City without any worries.

At this moment, while walking down a shaded path with Ling Luoyan, Gu Fei suddenly stopped, his brows furrowed. Then, from the forest ahead, the sound of birds flapping their wings rapidly could be heard, and several black birds suddenly flew out of the forest, heading into the distance.

At this time, Ling Luoyan also noticed Gu Fei's unusual behavior and the birds that had clearly been startled out of the forest. It seemed that something in the forest ahead had disturbed the birds.

As the sun set and the light was blocked by the mountains, the forest became quite dark, with a thin mist like a light veil swirling around the trees, and the surroundings were very quiet.

Just as Ling Luoyan was surprised, Gu Fei suddenly grabbed her and quickly rushed into the woods beside the path.

Just as they had hidden behind a tree, a black shadow suddenly rushed out from the forest ahead with a "whoosh."

"Hmm?" Gu Fei's eyes were like lightning, and in an instant, he saw the appearance of the person who had suddenly rushed out of the forest. When he saw this person, Gu Fei was somewhat taken aback.

Because that person could no longer be called human. The person's body was a kind of existence between solid and ethereal. This person had a face whiter than paper, with eyes that glowed with an eerie green light. The black clothes seemed to be a light veil covering the body. Moreover, Gu Fei noticed that this extremely strange person walked as if floating, as if not touching the ground.

Just as this extremely strange person rushed out of the forest, a streak of light like a dragon腾腾 (腾腾 means "soaring" or "flying" in this context, but it's not a common English word, so I'll use "soaring" instead) soared out from the forest behind him.

The speed of this streak of light was unimaginable, and in an instant, it caught up with the black-clothed person from behind, wrapping around his waist and instantly cutting him into two pieces.

Ling Luoyan, hidden in the woods by the side of the path, clearly saw this scene and was greatly shocked. She was about to let out a scream, but just before she could, a large hand covered her open mouth.

Ling Luoyan's scream was stifled in her throat, and she couldn't make a sound.

However, a shocking scene unfolded. The black-clothed person, who had been cut into two pieces by the streak of light, seemed to have no solid body, enveloped in a hazy black mist. There was no scream, no blood splattering, and the two halves of his body simply merged back together, and in a flash of dark light, his body was restored to perfection.

"This..." Gu Fei, hidden behind the tree, was also taken aback. The cultivation of this pale-faced, black-clothed person didn't seem particularly high, yet his body could instantly recover after being cut in half. What kind of power was this? It was truly astonishing.

The pale-faced, black-clothed person seemed to be very afraid of the person behind him. After his body was restored, he quickly transformed into a gust of yin wind and rushed up the mountain.

"Hmph! Where do you think you're going!" A cold laugh came from the forest, and then a white figure walked out. The streak of light turned in the air and shot towards the white figure with a "whoosh," and with a "clank," it returned to the scabbard on the person's back.

"A disciple of the Guangcheng Immortal Sect?" When Gu Fei saw the streak of light flying out of the forest, his expression changed. Seeing the light cut the black-clothed person, who seemed to be enveloped in a black mist, and then seeing the white figure walk out of the forest, his eyes immediately narrowed.

"Why is a disciple of the Guangcheng Immortal Sect here?" Gu Fei was full of questions. Who was the strange black-clothed person being pursued by the Guangcheng Immortal Sect?

The white figure who walked out of the forest was a young man in white, carrying a long sword. After retracting his flying sword, he didn't stop but immediately used a divine speed technique to chase after the yin wind that was fleeing ahead.

Clearly, this young man of the Guangcheng Immortal Sect had not yet reached the realm of sword and body as one, where he could ride his sword and fly through the air.

But the divine speed technique of the young man in white allowed him to move as if riding the wind, stepping on the treetops, and chasing forward with a speed that was not much slower than the yin wind fleeing ahead.

"Let's go! Let's take a look!" A fierce light flashed in Gu Fei's eyes, and he reached out to hold Ling Luoyan's waist, leaped up, and followed the young man in white, stepping on the treetops.

Ling Luoyan, being held by Gu Fei around her waist, blushed and her heart raced. Although she was dressed as a man, she was still a girl, and being held by a man made her feel shy.

Ling Luoyan was the little princess of the Houtian Trade Group, a pampered daughter of the family. How often had she been so close to a man? At this moment, she felt a strange sensation in her heart.

The three of them moved swiftly through the forest, quickly leaving the woods outside the small village near the dock and entering the mountains. This primeval old forest was filled with thousand-year-old trees with intertwined roots and hundred-year-old vines. The forest was dense, and under the trees, which were twenty to thirty zhang (about 60 to 90 meters) tall, various extremely dangerous beasts roamed.

After chasing for a hundred miles, the young man of the Guangcheng Immortal Sect finally cornered the black-clothed person in a small valley.

Gu Fei, holding Ling Luoyan, followed and arrived at the entrance of the small valley. They hid behind a large rock outside the valley and looked inside. They saw the ghostly black shadow facing off against the young man in white.

By this time, it was completely dark, but this did not affect the vision of these cultivators.

"Don't push me too far!" The green eyes of the black shadow, like ghostly flames, were extremely eerie in the darkness, and his voice was icy cold, filled with a chill.

"Hmph! You ghosts, instead of staying in the Fengdu Ghost City, you actually come out to drive away human souls and capture human spirits to cultivate the evil ghost weapon, the Five Ghost Banner. You truly deserve to die!" The young man's shoulder moved, and with a "clank," the divine sword on his back immediately flew out of the scabbard, rushing towards the seemingly ethereal black shadow. A fierce sword aura immediately spread throughout the valley.

"Hmm? So that person is actually a ghost soldier from the Fengdu Ghost City. No wonder he seemed to have no physical form." Gu Fei immediately understood when he heard this. The pale-faced, black-clothed person was actually a ghost cultivator.