Chapter 323: This kid, who exactly is he?

Zhou Qidan chuckled, "Look, he's really putting on quite a show."

Elder Sun raised an eyebrow. "With acting like that, he could fool all those peak masters below, just like coaxing idiots. Every time, it would work perfectly."

Both of them were convinced that the Cold Bone demonic core had been given by Xu Qingyang. Otherwise, it would be difficult to explain where Jiang Fan's demonic core came from.

"Who's putting on a show?" Xu Qingyang, however, said with a serious expression, "It's true that I was chasing Cold Bone that day. But its reinforcements arrived, dozens of beast kings at the mid-Core Formation stage. I was injured, and it was hard enough just to escape, let alone charge into a pack of beasts and kill it."

Uh—

At first, the two were still laughing. They thought Xu Qingyang was just pretending. But seeing his serious expression, which didn't seem like a joke, they slowly grew solemn.

Zhou Qidan showed surprise. "Cold Bone, you really didn't kill it?"

Xu Qingyang said in a low voice, "Are you sure you're not mistaken? Within our Myriad Sword Sect's territory, who else could kill Cold Bone? Even though my sword qi severely injured it, leaving it with less than fifty percent of its full strength, it's still not something an ordinary person could kill."

Realizing something was wrong, Zhou Qidan quickly took out the black jade box. After opening it, a white demonic core the size of an eyeball was revealed.

"Hiss! It really is Cold Bone's demonic core!" Xu Qingyang's expression changed. He immediately recognized from the demonic aura that this was the Cold Bone he had failed to kill!

"Where did you get that?" Zhou Qidan closed the jade box and retorted, "I was about to ask you the same thing! Where did that kid named Jiang Fan come from? He doesn't just have Cold Bone's demonic core; he also has demonic cores from Copper-scaled Black Centipede, Black Eagle, and Red-scaled Evil Flood Dragon, all of which were killed recently!"

Xu Qingyang was stunned. "Jiang Fan? Who's that?" He searched his mind but couldn't recall any powerful individual named Jiang Fan.

Zhou Qidan snapped, "The one wearing the mask! You even told me to give him the Poison Dragon Marrow!"

Xu Qingyang was shocked. "Are you saying he brought the Cold Bone demonic core? He has many other demonic cores? How is that possible?" The Jiang Fan he remembered was an excellent young man with superb medical skills and a meticulous mind. A world-shaking feat like killing Cold Bone had nothing to do with him.

Zhou Qidan gasped. "What? So you didn't know his true background either! Then who exactly is he?" At that moment, she even suspected Jiang Fan's name was fake. Perhaps he wasn't a disciple of the Azure Cloud Sect at all, but a highly skilled master hiding his identity.

Elder Sun rubbed his nose. "The three of us Grand Elders can't even see through a junior now?"

Hearing this, the three of them were each in a state of disarray. For a moment, they even began to doubt their understanding of life.

Meanwhile, Jiang Fan, the person in question, returned to the foot of the mountain, clutching the precious *Nine Poisons True Scripture* and the Poison Dragon Marrow. From a distance, he saw a group of people surrounding Xu Yining. Judging by their attire, they were from the Myriad Sword Sect. Jiang Fan even recognized the person leading them. It was Ling Guihai, the elite disciple of the Myriad Sword Sect who had previously attended the Heavenly Secret Pavilion's traveling auction.

He was gazing at Xu Yining with an astonished expression. "Junior Sister from the Azure Cloud Sect, are you looking for the Myriad Sword Sect for something? I am Ling Guihai, the unworthy senior disciple under the Myriad Sword Sect Master. If there's anything, you can tell this Senior Brother."

The few men and women accompanying Ling Guihai all showed ambiguous smiles. Ever since Ling Guihai returned from the Azure Cloud Sect, he had been engrossed in cultivation, as if he'd suffered a setback. He hadn't even bothered with the bustling Heavenly Secret Pavilion missions recently. Today, persuaded by a few friends, he temporarily put aside his cultivation to come out for a stroll. As soon as he stepped out, he was attracted by the beautiful young woman leaning against the wall.

Ling Guihai was not a lecherous person. He wouldn't even spare a glance for ordinary women. But this young woman before him, with her picturesque eyebrows and eyes, and her delicate jade-like face as if sculpted, truly captivated him, so much so that he actively sought to make her acquaintance.

Unfortunately, Xu Yining gave him no encouragement at all. "Senior Brother Ling, I appreciate your kindness, but I'm waiting for a friend; he'll be here soon. Please carry on." Xu Yining refused indifferently. She felt very annoyed. When she was with Jiang Fan and Shadow Guard One before, she hadn't noticed anything particular. But ever since she started traveling alone, she had discovered that every young man who approached her, without exception, coveted her beauty. In contrast, Jiang Fan and Shadow Guard One were practically a breath of fresh air. To her, men in the world were simply divided into Jiang Fan, Shadow Guard One, and all other men.

Ling Guihai gazed at Xu Yining's stunning beauty, finding it hard to tear his eyes away. He prided himself on having met many beauties, and not a few had thrown themselves at him. Yet, beauties who captivated him as deeply as the one before him were few and far between. The last one was Liu Qingxian, known as the Nine Sects' foremost beauty.

"Who is your friend? Tell me, perhaps I know them," Ling Guihai's eyes flickered. It was rare for him to encounter a woman he liked. How could he let her go so easily? Of course, if her friend was a powerful figure like a chief disciple or the sect master's primary apprentice from some sect, he would still exercise restraint and concede. If not, then, he apologized, but this was the Myriad Sword Sect, his territory. No matter what, he had to invite this Junior Sister back to the sect to foster their relationship. He naturally wouldn't dare use force; with the sect elders and grand elders watching, how could he commit such a reputation-damaging act? But winning her heart with various treasures and resources—wouldn't that be easy? Especially for a poor, bottom-ranked sect like the Azure Cloud Sect. Most of their disciples were rather impoverished. He could easily manipulate them.

Xu Yining opened her mouth, about to say Shadow Guard One's name, but then realized with helplessness that she still didn't know his true identity. Seeing her reaction, Ling Guihai smiled. Was her friend's reputation too small, and she was afraid no one would recognize the name?

"Junior Sister, how about this? I'll have someone wait here for your friend. Let's go take a walk around the Myriad Sword Sect first. When your friend returns, we'll notify him to join us. How does that sound?" Without waiting for Xu Yining's agreement, he gave a look to the female disciples beside him. They understood immediately and, giggling, began to push and shove.

"Come on, Junior Sister."

"Senior Brother Ling has never invited any junior sister from other sects before."

"Yes, let's go, let's go."

They pushed and pulled, forcibly dragging Xu Yining towards the Myriad Sword Sect. Although she cried out in surprise, the voices of the female disciples conveniently drowned her out. Passersby simply thought they were playfully messing around.

"Xu Yining, squat down!"

Just as Xu Yining was growing annoyed, Shadow Guard One's voice suddenly echoed in her ear. After the intense battle with the Copper-scaled Black Centipede, she and Shadow Guard One had developed a much stronger understanding. So, she instinctively squatted down!

The next moment, a curved sword qi, radiating astonishing coldness, arrived in the blink of an eye. The female disciples who couldn't react in time were instantly struck by the sword qi. With loud thuds, they were all sent flying and slammed against the wall. And that wasn't all. The cold qi within the sword qi rapidly spread. It froze them to the wall, unable to break free, and they began to cry out in fear.

This scene unfolded in a flash. Ling Guihai didn't even have time to react. He was both shocked and enraged. He quickly tried to pull one of the female disciples off the wall, but all he got was a painful scream. The person came down, but the skin from her face was left frozen on the wall. Her face was a bloody mess, disfigured on the spot.

Jiang Fan sheathed his sword and said flatly: "You'd better leave them on the wall a bit longer, until the cold qi dissipates. Firstly, it's to save their faces. Secondly, it's to expose their sense of shame!"

His expression was slightly cold. A trace of anger lingered in his eyes!