Chapter 380: Master Knows How Wronged I Am

However, just as the vaporous claw was about to pierce Jiang Fan's back, a beam of purple light shot through the air from the distant mist without warning, piercing straight through it in an instant.

An anguished howl, like that of a wounded leopard, immediately echoed all around. The irregular mass of poisonous mist collapsed to the ground, writhing in agony. Gray-black blood seeped from the wound where the purple sword had pierced it.

Jiang Fan raised a hand, and the purple sword flew back into his grasp. His expression turned slightly cold. "I already guessed you were feigning death!" he declared. "Mist Demon!"

It turned out that Lu Xiunian's fire talisman hadn't killed it. It had merely been feigning death for everyone to see. Its goal was to make others drop their guard. Xue Wanzhong had fallen victim, moving the Seven-Colored Profound Ice without any caution, and was struck by the trap the Mist Demon had laid.

Ever since entering the poisonous mist, Jiang Fan had remained vigilant. As he neared the Seven-Colored Profound Ice, he subtly positioned the purple sword in ambush nearby. Waiting for it to reveal itself, he activated his sword manipulation technique, delivering a fatal blow! This time, its act was truly over.

The Mist Demon let out an ear-piercing shriek. It struggled, trying to move towards the Seven-Colored Profound Ice. Jiang Fan lightly tapped his toe, flicking up the Seven-Colored Profound Ice, and swiftly placed it into his prepared satchel.

"Apologies, but it's mine now." With a simultaneous swing of his sword, the Mist Demon's body was sliced in half by the purple sword, which could cut through anything. It let out one final, agonizing shriek, and its two severed halves convulsed violently before gradually ceasing to struggle. It was undeniably dead.

Having secured the item, Jiang Fan immediately turned and headed back the way he came.

However, halfway back, he suddenly felt a slackness at his waist. He reached down to touch it. To his surprise, he discovered that the Black Iron Soft Silk... had snapped!

His expression instantly changed. Though not as resilient as Tianshan Silkworm Silk, the Black Iron Soft Silk was still an incredibly rare and valuable item. Otherwise, Lu Xiunian wouldn't have considered it a priceless treasure. It should not break easily, unless severed by something exceptionally sharp.

Meanwhile, Lu Xiunian, holding the other end of the Black Iron Soft Silk, also suddenly felt the taut silk go slack. He instantly knew something was amiss. He tried to yank it. The result: a significantly shorter length of Black Iron Soft Silk was pulled back.

"It's broken?" Lu Xiunian's eyes widened in shock. When he saw the perfectly smooth cut, as if caused by some kind of incision, his expression abruptly changed, and he shouted: "Jiang Fan! Jiang Fan! Jiang Fan!"

"Come back! There's still something in the poisonous mist!"

There was another thought he dared not voice aloud, for fear of alarming Jiang Fan. This thing was ten times more dangerous than the Mist Demon! Lu Xiunian couldn't even imagine what could cut through the Black Iron Soft Silk! Even if he encountered it himself, he'd be in danger! Let alone Jiang Fan?

Jiang Fan didn't need a warning; he had already sensed the presence of danger. Fortunately, he hadn't lost his bearings. He still had a Tianshan Silkworm Silk cord tied around his waist!

"Cutting off my escape route means you want to trap me or slowly wear me down," he murmured. "Let me guess: the reason you're not attacking directly is because you're wary of the sword in my hand, aren't you?" He squinted, scanning his surroundings.

At this moment, visibility was less than one zhang, as the poisonous mist intensified rapidly. If he took a step, he could only see the heel of his outstretched foot. Even his toes were indiscernible. In such conditions, he might not detect an opponent even if they were half a zhang away. Silence enveloped everything. Only the poisonous mist writhed ceaselessly. It was impossible to tell if any enemies were nearby. The sheer tension of the atmosphere alone was enough to drive most people insane. The opponent was waiting for the moment Jiang Fan lost his composure.

However, Jiang Fan remained remarkably calm. Unhurriedly, he unstrapped the long wooden case from his back. With a single palm strike, he opened it and cradled an ivory-white guqin.

"Let's see what you really are!" He gave a low cry, then decisively plucked the strings, unleashing sharp, ear-splitting musical notes. At first listen, they sounded like a flood dragon erupting from water, letting out a thunderous roar beside one's ear.

The moment they appeared, the surrounding air surged violently. Terrifying sound waves unleashed successive air currents, pushing outwards in all directions from Jiang Fan's center. The impossibly dense, seven-colored poisonous mist was forcibly dispersed, revealing a circular clear zone ten zhang in diameter! The ground, moreover, looked as if it had been plowed, crisscrossed with long, smoking furrows carved by the sound waves.

Jiang Fan noticed that two zhang away, there was a pool of iridescent blood on the ground. Indeed, something had been directly next to him, only two zhang away! They had been almost face-to-face! Had he not decisively employed his indiscriminate sound-path cultivation technique, he would have been in grave danger.

Meanwhile, a white cloud drifted across the sky. Hidden within it was a flying beast. Lin Yuheng and her disciple, Ruan Qingsu, rode upon its back.

Ruan Qingsu gritted her teeth and exclaimed, "You saw it, Master, didn't you? You saw it! I wasn't lying, was I? That scoundrel really knows sound-path cultivation!" Her face was flushed with excitement. Finally, she could prove that she hadn't been lying. That little scoundrel was finally exposed.

Lin Yuheng gazed down in astonishment at Jiang Fan, who stood clutching the guqin amidst the poisonous mist. She had come here, based on intelligence from the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets, to eliminate the demonic beast lurking within. Unexpectedly, just as they arrived on their flying beast, she witnessed a drastic change at the center of the poisonous mist. Powerful, unknown sound waves had forcibly dispersed a large section of the mist, revealing a human figure. And that figure was none other than Jiang Fan.

"How could he be here?" Lin Yuheng mused, surprised.

Ruan Qingsu retorted with irritation, "Master, is that the point? The point is, he really knows sound-path cultivation!"

Lin Yuheng shot her a look and commanded, "Silence! It's just sound-path cultivation; it's nowhere near as outlandish as you make it sound. This demonic beast is a mature Seven-Colored Poison Toad, and the source of the poisonous mist itself. Its power reaches the fourth layer of Core Formation; it's a Great Demon King of the mid-Core Formation stage. He can't possibly handle it alone! I must go down and help him."

However, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a figure outside the poisonous mist, appearing to be a child no older than six. Her expression faltered. "So, Grand Elder Qin Wangchuan of the Azure Cloud Sect is also here. It seems my trip was unnecessary. But why isn't she intervening? She can't possibly be trying to temper Jiang Fan's strength, can she? Isn't she afraid of getting Jiang Fan killed? This is a Seven-Colored Poison Toad, after all!"

Ruan Qingsu, standing behind her, crossed her arms, her face flushed with indignation. "Master, you can rest assured! That Seven-Colored Poison Toad might not even be able to harm that little prodigy! Just watch!"

Lin Yuheng poked her forehead and admonished her, "What's wrong with you? Why are you so fixated on this new disciple? I've told you already, someone else injured you; it couldn't have been him."

Ruan Qingsu's teeth audibly ground together in frustration. "Fine, fine, fine! Just open your eyes wide and see the true strength of this little prodigy! If I don't scare you half to death later, I'll eat that Seven-Colored Poison Toad raw!"