Chapter 137: Teasing

The birdsong made the mountain seem even more secluded. This place was very serene, with wisps of mist circling the peaks, green trees entwined with verdant vines, and a gurgling stream flowing over pebbles and winding around ancient trees. The fish in the stream showed no fear of people.

At first, Li Xiaoman frowned slightly, but she quickly composed herself. She stood gracefully, stopping ahead and looking at Ji Ziyue.

Nearby, several disciples from Star Peak were also appraising Ji Ziyue and Ye Fan, momentarily unsure of their origins.

Ji Ziyue, with her ethereal elegance, embodied the essence of the world's beauty and grace; it was impossible for her not to attract attention, and all the male disciples gazed at her.

Her elegant head and finely drawn eyebrows radiated confidence. Her purple robes fluttered in the wind, lively yet with a hint of nobility. She tilted her head to look at Li Xiaoman, a smile spreading across her delicate face.

Li Xiaoman remained calm. She did not respond verbally, her beautiful eyes showing no ripple of surprise as she met Ji Ziyue's gaze, her face betraying no emotional fluctuations.

"Sister, why aren't you speaking?" Ji Ziyue chuckled, unexpectedly extending a delicate hand. She waved it in front of Li Xiaoman's eyes, then casually stroked Li Xiaoman's face, like a mischievous youth teasing a respectable woman. She said, "You're quite beautiful; I find myself captivated."

Who was Li Xiaoman? She came from the other side of the starry sky, and her way of thinking was very different from the women of this world. Naturally, she wasn't scared; she merely showed a hint of surprise before asking, "Little sister, is there something you need?"

"Yes, I do. I am seventeen, graceful and beautiful, and have yet to take a spouse..." Ji Ziyue, vibrant and charming with a sweet smile, extended her delicate right hand and cupped Li Xiaoman's chin. She declared, "Today I met a beautiful woman; at first sight, I fell in love; at second sight, my heart was captivated; at third sight, I must possess you. I ask for nothing more." A beautiful woman teasing another beautiful woman was a delightful sight, and the disciples from Star Peak wished they could instantly swap places.

Having her chin cupped and being teased, even Li Xiaoman, who was far from conservative, couldn't help but frown. She took light steps backward, quickly evading. "Sister, don't worry," Ji Ziyue chuckled as she followed up, "I'm actually a man, a dashing young gentleman, a handsome jade-faced youth, perfectly capable of marrying you."

Seeing this, Ye Fan quickly stepped forward and pulled Ji Ziyue away. This little girl was mischievous and eccentric; she even dared to bite him. If she truly latched onto Li Xiaoman, he really didn't know what she might do.

"I was helping you..." Ji Ziyue said, highly displeased, blowing air into Ye Fan's ear; one could even hear her molars grinding. However, in the eyes of others, the scene appeared somewhat ambiguous, and the two seemed very intimate.

Nearby, a male disciple from Star Peak naturally asked, "May I ask which main peak you two disciples are from?" Although he addressed both, his gaze was fixed solely on Ji Ziyue.

"This junior sister, with her innate beauty, like a lotus emerging from water or a secluded orchid in a valley, must surely be a disciple of Li Peak," another disciple from Star Peak complimented her.

Ji Ziyue paid no attention; she merely slanted her large eyes towards Li Xiaoman. However, Ye Fan gave her no chance to step forward. He pulled her back forcefully, blocking her behind him, not wanting Li Xiaoman to misunderstand anything. Since everything from the past was over, there was no need to stir up trouble like this.

He took a step forward, facing Li Xiaoman, and said, "I didn't expect to meet you at Taixuan. We haven't seen each other in over a year. I hope everything is well."

"I'm well," Li Xiaoman replied, withdrawing her gaze from Ji Ziyue and looking at Ye Fan. "It is indeed surprising; I didn't expect to see you again. So, you've also come to Taixuan."

"Why do you look familiar?" a disciple from Star Peak muttered after staring at Ye Fan for a moment, then suddenly exclaimed, "It's you, that scoundrel from Zhuo Peak?!"

"Hey, hey, hey, what kind of talk is that?" Ji Ziyue said, displeased, glaring at him. "Junior sister, please don't be angry or blame us. This person has a great grudge with our Star Peak disciples, so please don't interfere," one of the Star Peak disciples replied. Immediately, several Star Peak disciples surrounded them.

Ye Fan didn't move; he looked at Li Xiaoman. "What's wrong, senior brothers?" Li Xiaoman asked. "This is the fellow from Zhuo Peak who injured many of our Star Peak disciples and holds a great grudge against our peak's disciples," one of them explained. "He relied on Zhuo Peak's valuable treasures to repeatedly injure our Star Peak members. Today, we demand an explanation!"

Ye Fan said nothing, merely watching them quietly. Ji Ziyue's large eyes darted about; she stopped speaking and glanced at Li Xiaoman, wanting to see how she would react.

"About this matter... I've also heard about it," Li Xiaoman said, frowning slightly. She then looked at Ye Fan and continued, "It was indeed wrong of you to injure so many Star Peak disciples. Apologize to these senior brothers here, and then quickly return to Zhuo Peak." After speaking, she looked at the Star Peak disciples and asked, "Senior brothers, what do you think?"

None of them wanted to offend Li Xiaoman, but they also didn't want to let Ye Fan off the hook so easily. "How can we let him go so easily?" they said. "We need a clear explanation."

"Oh, good, good!" Ji Ziyue clapped her hands gleefully, as if eager for chaos to erupt.

Ye Fan turned and glanced at them. He asked, "Where were those people injured?"

"Naturally, at Zhuo Peak," they replied. "Zhuo Peak is a main peak; they trespassed without reason. Who can they blame after being punished?" Ye Fan swept his gaze over them and said no more. "Junior Sister Li," one of them continued, "it's not that we're disrespecting you. You saw how arrogant he is. He injured our peak's disciples first, and now he still refuses to yield. We have no choice but to act."

"What a joke," Ye Fan scoffed. "Even in the mortal world, trespassing into someone's home is a serious crime, let alone in the world of cultivators. Intruding upon a main peak's sacred inheritance ground—do they still have a right to complain after being expelled? Even if I had killed them that day, your peak lord would have little to say."

"How arrogant!"

Several disciples from Star Peak sneered, but none dared to step forward. One of them quickly retreated; they feared Ye Fan might possess a valuable ancient treasure from Zhuo Peak, and they'd be subdued instead of capturing him. Past precedents made them very wary. "Regardless," Li Xiaoman said, stepping forward, "it was truly wrong of you to severely injure them. You should apologize to these senior brothers here." "What do you mean by that?" Ye Fan raised his head and retorted, "I am not in the wrong, why should I apologize?!" "You..." Li Xiaoman's expression subtly changed. She said, "I'm trying to help you." "Some ants want to cause trouble for me; I'll simply flick them away. Why do I need your help like this?!" Ye Fan turned to face the Star Peak disciples.

"Ye Fan, you are truly too arrogant," Li Xiaoman said in a low voice. "I am doing this to help you, yet you... I know you possess extraordinary innate talent and an unusual physique, but Star Peak has many masters..."

"Oh, good, good!" Ji Ziyue clapped her hands.

Half a month ago, Ye Fan had already dealt with Star Peak disciples. Now that Zhuo Peak was rising, with a powerful figure like Li Ruoyu in charge, Ye Fan naturally had no qualms. Surrounded by several cultivators at the Life Spring realm, he merely needed to flick them away. "Get as far away from me as you can! Don't block my path!" Ye Fan said, glaring at the people surrounding him.

"You think you can just leave today? Impossible!" they declared. Although they said this, they didn't dare to truly step forward, fearing the opponent would unleash an ancient treasure and deal with them. This was merely to buy time while they went to fetch true masters.

Ye Fan couldn't be bothered with them. He simply turned around and walked towards Zhuo Peak, intending to leave the area.

Those blocking his way immediately retreated, unwilling to confront him directly. "Hahahaha..." Ye Fan burst into laughter. "If you want to stop me, but are so afraid, then don't talk big."

"Exactly, how boring," Ji Ziyue pouted, muttering unhappily. "I thought you were going to fight, but you're all scared like this."

"If you didn't have an ancient treasure on you, how could we let you talk so big? We would have captured you long ago!"

"Dare to fight us fairly?"

Several disciples from Star Peak, faces red and necks bulging, were extremely indignant and shouted loudly.

"With you small fry, do you even know what an ancient treasure is?" Ye Fan scoffed. "You can all come at me. My bare fists will send you soaring into the clouds." He continued to stride forward.

"If you don't use your ancient treasure, I'll fight you!" A cultivator stepped forward.

"I don't have any 'ancient treasures'," Ye Fan said, a cold sneer playing on his lips. "If you're not afraid of broken bones and torn sinews, then all of you come at me."

"Kill!"

Someone unleashed a weapon: a blood-red blade transformed into a stream of starlight and slashed towards Ye Fan. This was a powerful strike from a Life Spring realm cultivator, its brilliance dazzling! "Clang!"

Ye Fan didn't care in the slightest. He casually waved his hand and lightly flicked a finger. His golden finger touched the blood-red blade, and immediately, a cracking sound was heard. "Crack!"

The weapon, forged for years by a Life Spring realm cultivator, was shattered by a single flick of Ye Fan's finger, like a piece of straw, utterly fragile!

Everyone present was greatly astonished. Li Xiaoman showed an even stranger expression; she knew Ye Fan's physique far surpassed ordinary people, but she hadn't expected it to be so powerful. "With just you lot, you dare to talk big and casually block me?!" Ye Fan scoffed.

Since Ye Fan had already made his move, he wouldn't stop there. He left behind a series of afterimages and charged towards the people around him.

Those few people all unleashed their weapons, striking with all their might to attack Ye Fan. Brilliant light radiated, with flowers and grass withering, and rocks pulverizing. But something terrifying happened: Ye Fan continuously flicked his fingers, and one weapon after another shattered. Under his golden palm and fingers, all weapons were like porcelain, unable to withstand such immense force. "Bang, bang, bang!" With just a few strikes, all those people fell to the ground, spitting blood, and were unable to get up again.

Ye Fan couldn't be bothered with these people. He kicked them all away, one by one, then strode towards Zhuo Peak without looking at Li Xiaoman. Ji Ziyue giggled, following behind him.

"Where do you think you're going? You injured our Star Peak disciples, and you think you can just leave?" In the distant sky, brilliant light flashed, and several figures flew over. A white-robed man led them, looking very heroic, with five or six other extraordinary-looking individuals beside him. "Senior Brother..." The people who had been kicked away gathered, their faces full of shame. "That white-robed man's cultivation is very impressive," Ji Ziyue whispered into Ye Fan's ear. The white-robed man did not step forward; the person who had just shouted wasn't him. Instead, one person stepped out from beside him, his gaze cold, and looked at Ye Fan, saying, "Do you dare to fight me?"

"Are you challenging a junior cultivator who just entered the sect?" Ye Fan chuckled.

"I won't make things difficult for you," the man said. "I won't use my peak Divine Bridge realm strength to pressure you. I'll give you a chance: I'll use only my physical strength to exchange three palm strikes with you. If you can take them, then the previous matter will be completely cleared."

Ye Fan laughed loudly. He swept his gaze over the few people present, glanced at Li Xiaoman, and finally fixed his gaze on the man. "Alright," he said, "since you've said so, I naturally cannot back down."

Star Peak cultivates the body with the power of stars, and once one reaches the Divine Bridge realm, their body becomes exceptionally robust. This man's confidence stemmed precisely from this reliance.