Chapter Twenty: Defying Fate and Changing Destiny

The night wind howled past the mountain peaks like an endless wail of ghosts, chilling everyone to the bone.

“I’m… going to die…”

Shen Lingfeng felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar, his heart filled with overwhelming terror—he was about to die.

Huangliang Meng witnessed this scene!

Shen Lingfeng’s lips trembled, revealing his inner turmoil. He asked, “Junior Brother Wang Chan, who is this person?”

Wang Chan’s eyes gleamed with an inexplicable smile. “Senior Brother Chen Xuan…”

“Chen Xuan, Senior Brother? Is there such a person on Qinglu Mountain? If he’s a fellow disciple, why would he want to kill me…” Shen Lingfeng said, confusion spreading across his face. Suddenly, realization dawned, his expression darkened, and he shouted angrily, “Wang Chan, what exactly are you trying to do?!”

He remembered who Chen Xuan was!

Chen Xuan—the highly gifted martial artist from Liuzhen.

If it weren’t for encountering this Huangliang Meng through Wang Chan ahead of time, and Wang Chan casually mentioning it, he was about to recruit this person into Qinglu Mountain!

“A mere mortal martial artist—how could he possibly kill me!” Shen Lingfeng’s face turned gloomy as he demanded.

“I deliberately left behind a scroll of Huangliang Meng’s breathing technique in Liuzhen. When he found himself desperate, he had no choice but to learn it… He has been chasing me all the way here. On the way, he ran into some members of the Chu family, who used certain methods to help him counter the small firebird trick of Qingqi from Qinglu Mountain… Of course, pure white gold qi is better, but he has no access to it… Now, he’s come to kill.”

Wang Chan’s expression was composed as he recounted gently, “In Huangliang Meng, this is a segment of the life trajectory belonging to ‘Chen Xuan’…”

Shen Lingfeng felt a chill run through him. Pointing at Wang Chan, he angrily said, “You… you’ve nurtured a tiger that will bring disaster!”

He couldn’t understand why Wang Chan would do this. If there was a grudge against Chen Xuan, a mere mention back in Liuzhen would have meant Chen Xuan’s grave was already overgrown with grass.

But now that things had come to this, there was no use complaining. The problem had to be solved.

Decisive by nature, Shen Lingfeng immediately ordered the others, “Go and call back Junior Brothers Chu and Li San at once—the mountain is no longer safe… Stop trying to catch the treasure fish. After several blind nights, not a single one caught!”

Wang Chan replied, “No need. They are already dead at Chen Xuan’s hands.”

Shen Lingfeng’s eyes widened in disbelief. “How did he manage that? Has he truly become so powerful already!”

It was unimaginable—in just over half a month, that so-called mortal martial artist Chen Xuan had grown into a force capable of simultaneously slaying four Qi practitioners. Such talent was nothing short of extraordinary.

Wang Chan nodded. “Chen Xuan is that kind of person. I have seen it all in Huangliang Meng…”

His voice was calm and detached, like a hammer striking repeatedly on Shen Lingfeng’s heart.

“Wang Chan… why didn’t you tell us earlier?”

Shen Lingfeng’s eyes were bloodshot, veins bursting as anger and resentment erupted.

Wang Chan knew everything!

Yet he did nothing, watching as fellow disciples died! All talk of individual ascension and shared glory was hypocrisy—yet Shen Lingfeng had regarded Wang Chan as one of his own!

At that moment, Shen Lingfeng seemed to see the entity called Huangliang Meng, carrying an overwhelming malice that crashed down like a mountain storm.

Wang Chan’s expression was innocent as he spoke deliberately, “Chen Xuan is cautious. His strength isn’t enough yet. He won’t attack tonight… Senior Brother Shen, you still have a few days to live…”

“Wang Chan! From now on, I will never trust a word you say!”

—

Shen Lingfeng’s face turned cold. Then, with a resolute tone, he declared, “Half a month—no matter how talented he is, how strong can he be? I have undergone the second transformation! I will descend the mountain now and kill him myself. I will fight for my own life—I don’t need your Huangliang Meng schemes!”

With that, Shen Lingfeng called to the Qinglu Mountain disciples and charged down the mountain, radiating murderous intent.

A few days until death? He would act now, defy fate, and resolve this matter!

Wang Chan watched their departing backs, tapping his temple with a crooked finger, a strange and eerie smile curling at his lips.

“You mortals… you simply don’t understand the terror that is Huangliang Meng…”

...

By the shore of Little Stone Lake.

Chen Xuan dragged Li San’s corpse back to this place.

“Qinglu Mountain won’t discover Li San and the others are dead anytime soon. Nor will they suspect I pursued them. I still have time to improve my strength…”

Facing experts who had undergone the second transformation, with Wang Chan and others who had mastered tricks and cultivated Qingqi, direct confrontation was impossible. He had to wait for them to separate and then take them down one by one…

“I don’t believe all six of you will stick together forever. From tomorrow morning onwards, I will monitor you for a year!”

Chen Xuan planned this in his heart.

He did not know that shortly after he left, a group rode down the mountain on blue elk, heading fiercely toward Little Stone Lake.

Moonlight scattered, and the tranquil surface of Little Stone Lake rippled gently, like a bright mirror reflecting cold light. Occasionally, treasure fish darted through the water, the atmosphere serene and peaceful.

Chen Xuan sat beside the corpse, cultivating the small firebird trick while waiting for the arrival of the Little Netherworld.

He didn’t understand why the Lady Black Cat hadn’t appeared yet. Senior Brother Chu and his group had been dead for over two hours.

Could it be that a fierce battle was raging nearby, with many Qi practitioners dying in large numbers? Had the Lady Black Cat been delayed, unable to arrive on time?

Or was there another reason?

Chen Xuan could only wait. Suddenly, his gaze sharpened as he looked toward the shimmering lake surface.

“Splash!”

The water broke as a silver-white treasure fish, as long as an arm, leapt from the water. Its scales reflected dazzling light under the moon. It landed on the grass some distance away, then, like a streak of white mist, swiftly slid toward the forest.

A passing treasure fish!

“The treasure fish are beginning to leap the Dragon Gate!”

Chen Xuan immediately realized. The passing treasure fish was an extremely precious flesh-and-blood elixir with immense effects on human transformation. Not only Qinglu Mountain, but even the Qi practitioners of Xiaohe Village coveted it.

He glanced at the corpses on the ground. What was there to wait for the Little Netherworld for? The treasure before him was far more important!

“Whoosh!”

Chen Xuan sprang into action, dashing into the forest like lightning, chasing after the passing treasure fish.

“A roar echoed faintly like a dragon’s cry from the mountain forest.”

...

In the mountain forest, a group rode blue elk at full speed toward Little Stone Lake.

Suddenly,

One figure stopped. Shen Lingfeng furrowed his brows, peering through the dense woods as if watching a ferocious beast.

The other four followed Shen Lingfeng’s gaze but saw nothing ahead.

“Whoosh!”

Shen Lingfeng suddenly pulled the reins, turned around, and broke away from the group, heading north at a breakneck pace.

“Senior Brother Shen! Where are you going?” came several anxious shouts, but Shen Lingfeng ignored them, urging his elk onward. Soon, his loud and resolute voice echoed from afar.

“Junior brothers, after much thought, a gentleman does not stand beneath a dangerous wall. I will return to Qinglu Mountain to report on the situation in the southern wilderness! Do not follow me—go back quickly to protect Junior Brother Wang Chan!”

Shen Lingfeng had made up his mind. When the fate of the great Dao was at stake, how could he recklessly risk his life?

Huangliang Meng was no mere illusion. He might really die at Chen Xuan’s hands… Even if the chance was only one percent, he wouldn’t gamble.

“Who am I, Shen Lingfeng? A direct disciple of Qinglu Mountain. Even if I do nothing, I will still become a great figure. Why risk my life wading into this mess?”

Bah! What nonsense of Huangliang Meng! What genius Chen Xuan? Shen Lingfeng would no longer indulge it. He would return home to seek his senior cultivators!

His junior brothers were dumbfounded, frozen like statues.

“Senior Brother Shen, didn’t you say you would take matters into your own hands and defy fate?”

And now he just rides off alone? Fleeing?

“Uh… I guess this counts as an alternative way to change fate?”

Under the night sky, countless people faced forks in the road, each choosing their own path. No one knew what would happen next…

“A roar!”

Shen Lingfeng galloped wildly on his elk when suddenly, ahead on the mountain path, a silver-white streak flashed by at lightning speed, crossing into the forest on the other side. A dragon-like roar echoed from the streak.

“What is that… a passing treasure fish?”

“Whoosh!”

In the next moment, a figure appeared in close pursuit, moving so fast he was nearly a blur. As he crossed the mountain path, he glanced toward Shen Lingfeng…

Their eyes met.