Chapter 42: Inverted Headstand

**Chapter 42: Headfirst into the Mud**

Time flew by. Four months had passed since Ye Fan and Pang Bo arrived at Spirit Void Cliff to learn cultivation techniques. On this day, the Elder of Transmission once again bestowed upon them medicinal liquid.

The small, crystal-clear jade bottle, no more than two inches high with a circular base about an inch in diameter, contained a very limited amount of the liquid.

The medicinal liquid was emerald green and had a unique herbal fragrance. It possessed extraordinary efficacy in opening the Sea of Bitterness, saving cultivators a great deal of time and effort. It was said that this liquid was the essence refined from a hundred different herbs, equivalent to the vital essence contained within the human Wheel of Life, and was known as Hundred Herbs Liquid.

Swish!

The Elder of Transmission on the stone cliff transformed into a divine rainbow, soaring into the sky and vanishing into the depths of the Spirit Void Cavern in the blink of an eye.

Ye Fan and Pang Bo put away their jade bottles, ready to leave, when a boy of fifteen or sixteen years old walked over. Arrogantly, he blocked their path and declared, "Lend me two bottles of Hundred Herbs Liquid." With that, he reached out to grab them, giving them no chance to refuse.

"Who are you, and why should we give them to you?" Pang Bo slapped his hand away and glared at him.

Ye Fan noticed that the surrounding people showed a hint of fear and all stepped back. Seeing that the boy already clutched five or six bottles of Hundred Herbs Liquid in his hand, Ye Fan immediately understood this was an overt act of forceful extortion.

The fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy's face fell instantly after Pang Bo knocked his hand away. "You dare glare at me?" he demanded.

Pang Bo and Ye Fan didn't want trouble. After all, everyone here was a cultivator, and they had only recently arrived at the Spirit Void Cavern. Unwilling to conflict with others, they took a few steps back, intending to leave.

"You think you can just leave quietly? Did I say you could?" the boy sneered, grabbing Pang Bo's wrist while his other hand reached for the Hundred Herbs Liquid.

Although Pang Bo's strength was not as great as Ye Fan's, compared to cultivators who had not yet mastered profound techniques or divine abilities, he possessed remarkable power. With a shake of his hand, he flung the boy away, sending him stumbling and nearly falling to the ground.

The fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy, red-faced with anger, yelled, "You dare lay a hand on me? I'll make sure you two can't get out of bed for three months!"

Just then, several more boys of fifteen or sixteen pushed through the crowd. The surrounding people immediately showed fear, quickly stepping back, apparently recognizing these newcomers. Each of them held six or seven bottles of Hundred Herbs Liquid, clearly stolen from others.

These boys quickly surrounded Ye Fan and Pang Bo. The boy who had just been humiliated by Pang Bo sneered, "Give them a lesson. Make sure they can't get out of bed for three months."

"Indeed, wherever there are people, there are grievances, even among cultivators," Ye Fan stated, then said no more. He simply walked forward, and when a boy leaped at him, Ye Fan kicked him away.

Pang Bo also sneered, "To steal from fellow disciples, you're truly audacious. If we don't teach you a lesson, who knows what evil deeds you'll commit in the future?" He struck harder, almost sending each boy flying with a single slap, turning them into a pile of rolling gourds.

"You dare hit me?" The instigator, his cheeks swollen, glared fiercely at Ye Fan and Pang Bo. He quickly scrambled to his feet, turned, and ran into the distance, shouting, "Just you wait!"

Without being able to commune with the divine power source within the Wheel of Life, cultivators were only stronger than ordinary people. But compared to Ye Fan and Pang Bo, they were like mere mortals.

Just then, a fourteen or fifteen-year-old boy in the distance said to a young man in his twenties beside him, "Your brother is truly useless. I sent him to test them out, and he ended up humiliating himself like that."

The young man in his twenties looked somewhat embarrassed but was clearly wary of the younger boy. With a hint of deference, he asked, "These two don't seem like much. Is it worth testing them like this?"

"My grand-uncle wants to test them," the fourteen or fifteen-year-old boy said with a disdainful sneer. "I heard these two might have consumed some divine medicine... Otherwise, I'd have no interest in them at all!"

The young man in his twenties shivered upon hearing this. He seemed to greatly fear the boy's grand-uncle. "Even if it was divine medicine, these two would have already consumed it. What are your grand-uncle's plans then?"

"My grand-uncle believes that strong medicinal properties should still remain within their bodies. It's a shame he only recently learned about these two; he's incredibly vexed," the boy replied.

"This..." The young man beside him felt a chill run through his body. He hesitated before asking, "Even if there are medicinal properties remaining in their bodies, can they really be extracted?"

"If you can't extract it directly, why not drain their blood?" The fourteen or fifteen-year-old boy's smile was chilling, unfitting for his age. "At worst, we'll just refine their bodies directly. I think... that's what my grand-uncle means."

The young man beside him felt a wave of dread. That old alchemist had always been ruthless, and as an elder of the Spirit Void Cavern, few dared to provoke him. If those two boys were targeted as medicinal ingredients, they would surely not survive.

The fourteen or fifteen-year-old boy, sounding like he was ordering a subordinate, said, "Your useless brother is coming. Go with him and assess those two. See what their physique is like and if they're worth my grand-uncle refining into medicine."

"Alright, I'll go at once."

Ye Fan and Pang Bo had already been modest enough, yet they were still being targeted, though they didn't know it yet.

As the two pushed through the crowd, preparing to leave, they were blocked once more. This time, it was a young man in his twenties, with a faint glow circulating around his body, clearly indicating he had mastered some profound techniques and could employ partial divine abilities.

"Brother, you have to teach them a good lesson for me!" The instigator glared fiercely at Ye Fan and Pang Bo. The other boys, seeing their backer arrive, also began to shout loudly.

"Break their arms and legs, then throw them into the lotus pond to feed the fish!"

"Make them kneel and kowtow a thousand times!"

...

The boys continued to shout and insult Ye Fan and Pang Bo, emboldened by the presence of their backer.

Ye Fan frowned at the time. He naturally wouldn't get angry over a few boys, but he felt that something was unusual, as if someone was deliberately targeting them.

"Why did you two brutally beat my brother?" the young man asked, his face grim as he stared at Ye Fan and Pang Bo.

"Which eye of yours saw me brutally beat him?" Pang Bo's eyebrows shot up. Things had escalated to a point where he couldn't tolerate it anymore. Even if they backed down, the other party would still deal with them harshly. He naturally saw through their excuse.

"What exactly do you want?" Ye Fan asked directly.

"You brutally beat my brother, so of course I must avenge him," the young man sneered, stepping forward menacingly.

At this moment, many people had gathered around, all watching from a distance. No one dared to step forward and intervene. The disciples at the foot of this cliff were almost all recent initiates, and they felt fear towards the young man whose body glowed.

"Break their legs and make them kneel there!"

"Throw them into the lake to feed the fish!"

The boys started yelling again.

Swish!

With a flash of light, the young man lunged forward like a ghost, incredibly fast. His palm and fingers, as clear as jade, struck towards Ye Fan's neck like a blade.

He wasn't using his full strength; in his view, this palm strike was enough to knock Ye Fan down and make him collapse. However, to his surprise, Ye Fan reacted swiftly, stepping back two paces and dodging it very naturally. Moreover, with a 'thud,' he reached out and grabbed the young man's hand.

"Let go!"

Although the young man was somewhat surprised, he didn't believe Ye Fan could pose a threat to him and tried to forcefully shake Ye Fan off. But once again, things went against his expectations; his fingers felt as if they were caught in a vice, incredibly painful and impossible to dislodge.

Thud!

Just then, Pang Bo, standing nearby, made his move, smashing a fierce punch into the young man's back. The force was astonishing. The young man's body trembled violently, and a trace of blood immediately spilled from the corner of his mouth.

After Ye Fan grabbed his hand, he swung the young man around like a ragdoll, then slammed him heavily onto the ground.

Thud!

Dust billowed up, and the ground trembled violently. The faint glow on the young man's body immediately dissipated. He screamed, spitting out several mouthfuls of blood, and his body convulsed.

Everyone around was stunned. They had never imagined that Ye Fan would be the one to strike down the young man, and so cleanly at that.

It wasn't that the young man lacked strength; after all, he had mastered some profound techniques, but he had no chance to use them. At this point, Ye Fan could easily lift a boulder weighing several thousand jin with one arm, possessing what could be called dragon-elephant strength. Such immense power was something even ordinary divine abilities or profound techniques might not withstand.

"You clearly started this and provoked us. We were just defending ourselves, yet you have the nerve to say we brutally beat you. Fine, let's make it truly live up to that name now!" Pang Bo, enraged, quickly rushed forward. The boys tried to run, but the surrounding crowd blocked them, making it impossible to escape quickly.

Thud! Thud! Thud!...

Pang Bo struck repeatedly, kicking each boy back one by one, then forced them to the ground and began slapping them with loud smacks.

"What were you saying just now? Break our arms and legs and throw us into the lotus pond to feed the fish? And make us kneel and kowtow a thousand times? Are you tired of living?!"

Pang Bo delivered a savage beating, wildly slapping them. The boys on the ground were left bruised and swollen, looking like pig heads, screaming continuously.

"You haven't even cultivated a single divine ability, yet you want to act like bullies and oppress others? You truly don't know your place! If I don't teach you a good lesson today, you'll really start thinking you're immortals!"

Pang Bo stood up and kicked wildly. The boys on the ground continued to scream miserably, but Pang Bo felt refreshed, finding more comfort with each kick.

"Speak, why are you targeting us?" On the other side, Ye Fan wasn't idle either, kicking fiercely. The young man rolled and rolled on the ground, his body convulsing, blood oozing from his mouth.

"If you don't speak, I'll throw you into the pond headfirst!" Ye Fan kicked him again with immense force, sending the young man flying horizontally eight or nine meters away.

Upon hearing this, Pang Bo's face lit up. "Great idea!" he exclaimed. With that, he squatted down and, with great strength, lifted five or six boys simultaneously, heading towards the lotus pond.

"No, please put us down!"

"Help, he's killing us!"

"Please, please put us down!"

Pang Bo ignored them. One by one, he picked them up and hurled them forcefully towards the lotus pond. There was a lot of mud inside, and under the immense force of Pang Bo, all these boys landed headfirst, stuck upside down in the mud.

"Don't kill them..." Ye Fan reminded.

"It's fine. These good-for-nothings have, after all, embarked on the path of immortality. Even if they haven't mastered profound techniques or divine abilities yet, their physiques are much stronger than ordinary people. They can hold their breath for at least half an hour."

"Are you going to speak or not? Do you want a headfirst plunge too?!" Ye Fan kicked the young man on the ground again, sending him flying.

Pang Bo strode over. "Just throw him in headfirst. Don't waste time talking. See if he'll speak then."

Seeing that the other party still wouldn't yield, Ye Fan said nothing more. He lifted him and hurled him forcefully forward.

The surrounding crowd was utterly dumbfounded. What incredible divine strength! The lotus pond was still forty or fifty meters away, yet Ye Fan had thrown a grown man as if he were a javelin.

Plop!

Indeed, the young man plunged straight into the mud like a javelin, most of his body sinking in, leaving only his lower legs still struggling and kicking above the surface.

"He's a monster!"

"Where did this monster come from? He looks refined and quiet, only about eleven or twelve, yet how can he possess such immense strength?!"

...

The surrounding people were agape, then began to chatter amongst themselves. However, everyone felt quite satisfied; those arrogant people deserved such a lesson.

Suddenly, the crowd in the distance quickly parted, making way for a few strangers. A fourteen or fifteen-year-old boy, his face as grim as water, slowly walked towards them, accompanied by several young men in their early twenties, all with light circulating around their bodies.

"That's Elder Han's youngest grandson, Han Feiyu..."

"His grand-uncle is also an elder, said to be a master alchemist."

"Quiet! Don't talk about him; be careful not to invite trouble by speaking carelessly!"

...

The fourteen or fifteen-year-old boy, Han Feiyu, slowly approached, his face dark. He spoke to Ye Fan and Pang Bo, "What do you think Spirit Void Cavern is? To act so violently and unrestrainedly in public, do you really believe you're enforcement elders?"

Ye Fan and Pang Bo ignored him, practically dismissing him as they turned to look at the lotus pond.

Han Feiyu's face immediately grew even darker. He said to the four people beside him, "Don't let them obstruct my view any longer!"

Hearing this, Ye Fan turned around and said, "You've got quite the attitude. It seems you've been orchestrating this from behind the scenes all along. There's nothing more to say. Today, you'll also go headfirst into the mud."

Upon hearing this, two cold glints shot from Han Feiyu's eyes. He muttered to himself, in a voice barely audible, "It seems I'll have to send two corpses to grand-uncle..."