Chapter 178: Chu Fan’s First Display of Prowess

Chapter 178: Chapter 178: Chu Fan’s First Display of Prowess

Chu Fan had mobilized nearly half the combined combat power of the Profound Wind Mercenary Corps and the Yellow Storm Mercenary Corps into this valley.

They had a definite numerical advantage—several thousand against a few hundred—but they were still lacking when it came to high-end combat power.

After all, the only Divine Separation Realm experts in the two mercenary corps were their leaders, Liu Yisheng and Qi Biao.

Meanwhile, on the Red Blood Mansion’s side, even though Hu Jishan and his group had killed or severely wounded nine of their Divine Separation Realm experts, five or six still remained.

"Everyone, you can just stay here and watch the show. There’s no need for you to intervene. The Red Blood Mansion and I share a deep-seated hatred. I’m going down to collect a little interest first."

After speaking to the sect leaders and elders behind him, Chu Fan immediately flew down into the valley with Lan Bing and four others.

Chu Fan’s decision to personally lead the charge into the valley wasn’t just about venting his anger.

In reality, he also wanted to flex his muscles.

His eight key subordinates, including Jing’an and Lan Bing, had each been personally taught a Divine Level Martial Technique by Xiezhi, allowing every one of them to battle opponents of a higher realm.

As for Chu Fan himself, his power was even more profound.

If he weren’t trying to hide his trump cards, he alone would have been enough to deal with the several hundred Red Blood Mansion experts in the valley.

He only needed to unleash the second Divine Technique of the Juntian Mirror, the Inner Lion Seal. Within a thousand-foot radius, any creature whose cultivation was below the Integration Realm would be annihilated.

The sects supporting his plan were doing so mostly due to a mix of coercion and bribery, making this alliance incredibly unreliable.

Take the Chenqing Sect, for example. Why would their ancestor appear at the Cyan Cloud Sect, override popular opinion, and even place Zou Yuting under house arrest just to support Chu Fan?

It was all because of the effects of a single bowl of Drunken Immortal Brew.

And what about Cheng Shimo of the Profound Celestial Sect and Lü Hongshao of the Xuandao Sect? Neither of them was a fool. Why did they support Chu Fan?

It was simply because Chu Fan had given them too much.

This included two bowls of Drunken Immortal Brew for each of the two ancestors who served as the unshakable pillars of their respective sects.

After all, the Six Sects and Eight Gates were considered the top tier of the Eastern Domain’s Cultivation Sects precisely because each one had one or two ancient ancestors holding down the fort.

But these ancestors were ancient and withered; many were on their last legs, surviving only by using the Turtle Breath technique while drawing on their sect’s Spirit Vein.

A single bowl of Drunken Immortal Brew would induce a three-year slumber, but it could also reactivate their vitality to some degree, granting them precious extra years of life.

For these sects, this was an irresistible temptation.

That was why those few sects so stubbornly supported Chu Fan.

’But such support is not dependable,’ Chu Fan thought. ’What if, after I deliver the promised Drunken Immortal Brew and the ancestors awaken from their three-year slumber, they go back on their word and break their promises?’

’When it comes to human nature, even I can’t be certain.’

’So, I need to flex my muscles now. Not only that, but over the next three years, I must work tirelessly to accumulate even greater power to guard against any potential betrayals from these sects.’

Wielding the heavily-nicked Juntian Sword, Chu Fan plunged into the valley like a tiger let loose among sheep.

Whether they were Divine Separation Realm experts or Cultivators of a lower level, no one who crossed Chu Fan’s path could withstand a single blow.

It wasn’t just him; Jing’an and the others were just as devastating when they charged into the fray.

The sect leaders and elders watching the battle from the mountaintop were utterly horrified by the slaughter unfolding below.

Chu Fan’s indomitable figure, in particular, captured everyone’s attention.

Many of them tried to imagine themselves in the fray, wondering if they would even stand a chance against an enemy like Chu Fan.

The young man who, just three years ago, had to rely on an elixir that stimulated his potential just to win back the woman he loved from the Celestial Derivation Sect; the same young man who had then fled in disgrace to hide in Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain—in just three short years, he had grown this powerful.

What heights would he reach in the future?

No one could say for sure.

At this moment, no one felt more regret than Yu Zongding. ’This man was once a disciple of our Lingyun Sect,’ he thought, his heart aching. ’Why was I so foolish? Why did I expel a disciple of such peerless talent from our gates?’

Yu Zongding even felt a sliver of fear. Chu Fan had said that after he annihilated the Red Blood Mansion, he would personally visit Lingyun Peak on Yunmeng Mountain to demand an explanation.

Did Yu Zongding not hate the Red Blood Mansion?

Of course he did. It was the Red Blood Mansion that had destroyed one of Lingyun Sect’s two "Stabilizing Needles"—a Supreme Elder—which had nearly caused the sect to be cast out from the ranks of the Six Sects and Eight Gates and suffer countless humiliations afterward.

Yet he didn’t dare seek revenge against them. He didn’t even dare demand the return of the bodies of the Supreme Elder’s five disciples, which were still in the Red Blood Mansion’s possession.

He never imagined that the disciple whose cultivation had been crippled could, in just three short years, actually grow powerful enough to avenge his sect by wiping out a behemoth of a Cultivation Sect.

’I am no match for you! If I could, I would hand over the entire Lingyun Sect to you,’ Yu Zongding sighed inwardly, his eyes fixed on the indomitable figure in the valley.

Yun Keji also watched Chu Fan, his heart a swirl of complicated emotions. As he observed the battle in the valley, his gaze would occasionally drift to Yun Xi, who stood not far away.

Yun Xi, however, was completely captivated by the figure in the valley; she didn’t notice Yun Keji’s glances at all.

In her eyes, Yun Keji had long since become a stranger.

The battle had been meticulously planned, so it didn’t last long. It ended with the complete annihilation of the Red Blood Mansion’s forces.

Chu Fan returned to the peak with Jing’an and the others, leaving Liu Yisheng and Qi Biao to lead the two mercenary corps in cleaning up the battlefield.

When Chu Fan returned to the mountaintop, the attitude of the sect leaders and elders toward him shifted once more.

A newfound respect flickered in their eyes; they no longer saw him as a mere junior.

"Ji Bufan, send word to the Celestial Sect, the Celestial Derivation Sect, the Wuji Sect, and those four minor sects. Inform them that their sect leaders and disciples were ambushed and completely wiped out by the Red Blood Mansion at Taiyue Mountain. Furthermore, deliver two bowls of Drunken Immortal Brew to the Celestial Sect, the Celestial Derivation Sect, and the Wuji Sect each, and make sure they understand its effects."

Upon returning to the peak, Chu Fan had immediately issued this order to Ji Bufan in front of everyone.

Even those present who didn’t know the effects of Drunken Immortal Brew could understand Chu Fan’s intentions from the first part of his order alone.

As for the few who did know its effects, they were shaken to their core.

He was pulling the rug out from under them.

Using their enemies’ strength against them. The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.

They were once again stunned by Chu Fan’s methods.

To destroy the Red Blood Mansion, he would stop at nothing.

To eliminate the core strength of the sects that opposed him, he would also stop at nothing.

But as for his cunning... forget the younger generation; how many among the sect leaders and elders present could possibly compare to him?

’Drunken Immortal Brew! That’s a priceless treasure, and he’s just handing out six bowls of it?’

’Isn’t he afraid of creating several powerful new enemies in the process?’

’What happened at the Cyan Cloud Sect can’t be kept secret forever. The people from those sects will eventually find out the truth. Isn’t he afraid they’ll turn on him?’

But it was obvious. If they could think of these risks, how could someone as calculating as Chu Fan not have foreseen them?

Since he had gone through with this plan, he must have been fully prepared for the consequences.

They just couldn’t figure out what Chu Fan’s next move would be.

Ji Bufan acknowledged the order and departed.

Chu Fan had no intention of explaining himself. The results would be proof enough.