Chapter 87 Meeting Li Xiaoman
Ye Fan had long ago thought of once more returning to the Ancient Desolation Forbidden Land. By doing so he might gain a huge opportunity!
Whether it was humans or those various ferocious beasts, none of them would enter the area forbidden to life. The plant life flourished there, with countless spiritual medicines. After the passing of many years, the spiritual medicines had practically become divine medicines. At the same time that it was a forbidden ground, it could also be considered a priceless divine land.
Ye Fan had eaten the sacred fruit and drunk from the divine spring, so he felt it was very likely he should be able to survive within that land. He had been planning on returning back to those forbidden grounds once he had reached a certain realm.
“I am still very weak, and it still isn’t appropriate for me to return. But now that I’ve been forced to such a plight…” He didn’t have any other options. All he could do was advance forward, braving death.
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Within the depths of the mountains, vicious beast roars thundered through the heavens. Ye Fan’s expression changed; the Ancient Desolation Forbidden Land was still very far, but there had already appeared such extremely terrifying beasts. It seemed it would be very difficult to pass through.
However, if he didn’t continue forward, how could he get rid of that knight who was chasing him? Ye Fan was stuck in a dilemma.
“Just wait, Jiang Yichen. Even if you are a son of the Jiang family, there will still come a day when I will kill you!” Ye Fan had never felt such contempt for a person. The noble was after his treasures and acted in such a ruthless manner to exterminate him.
Suddenly, Ye Fan felt a sense of danger. That knight seemed to have drawn closer to him, so he hastily hid again.
A green figure appeared in the sky. The Jiang Family’s powerful knight once more appeared, but his beast suddenly seemed to become afraid, hastily descending to the ground and shivering.
Not far away, Ye Fan clearly saw all of this and was extremely startled. How could such a powerful beast be scared into such an appearance? That knight was also very shocked, hiding in the rubble.
Just at this moment, the mountain forest darkened, and a wild gale blew through. Many plants snapped as an enormous shadow descended upon the ground.
In the sky, a huge bird that covered the sky flew over his head. Its body was like a bright golden cloud, blocking the sun and shrouding the sky.
“Golden Wing Roc!” Ye Fan was deeply shaken.
The roc’s might was legendary, and it suppressed this entire mountain range into silence. All of the beast roars disappeared, the silence continuing even a long time after it faded into the distance.
The Jiang Family’s knight once more mounted his beast, soaring into the sky. Even someone as powerful as him could only hide.
Ye Fan was extremely worried. If he continued walking forward, just how many powerful beasts would he meet along the way; would he even be able to reach the area forbidden to life?
“The Ancient Desolation Forbidden Land has nine sacred mountains that connect to form a bottomless abyss. According to legend, each sacred mountain has a sacred fruit and divine spring that are all different from each other…” Ye Fan used such words to encourage himself.
“I’ve only eaten just one sacred fruit and drunk from one spring, but my body has already changed so much. If I could get only to the other eight sacred mountains…” Although he was motivating himself, he was still somewhat afraid. There were no encouraging signs as he traveled.
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Just one day passed before his hope was shattered. He ran into three extremely powerful knights one after another who had long since blockaded off his path forward, unceasingly circling around the air above the primal mountain range.
“They really are trying to exterminate me! They actually sent out so many powerful knights!”
ROOARR!
From the distant mountain came an ear-splitting beast roar. Those three powerful knights all quickly flew further away. Ye Fan noticed a nine-headed snake beast flying upon a cloud in the sky.
It was at least as large as a small mountain, and it possessed an extremely formidable pressure. Black mist curled around its enormous body, and its body seemed somewhat like a qilin. Combined with its nine huge snake's heads, it seemed extremely sinister. With just one roar, it managed to scare away three of the Jiang Family’s powerful knights. The vague pressure that came from it caused his heart to leap in fear.
Ye Fan’s heart immediately sank. He still hadn’t even gotten anywhere close to the Ancient Desolation Forbidden Land, but all sorts of powerful beasts had appeared in succession. If he continued forward, who knows what he would meet with. If he couldn’t fly and relied solely on walking, he might never be able to pass through this practically endless primal mountain range. No wonder the Jiang Family’s knights could only blockade off that specific region which had no beasts.
Ye Fan once more carefully slunk away. The comparatively safer regions had all been completely blockaded off by those three knights, and there was no way for him to pass through them.
“I can predict their thoughts, but they can also predict what path I want to take. They must have known I could only escape by entering the Ancient Desolation Forbidden Land…”
Ye Fan hid within the dense forest and carefully pondered his next course of action. In the end, he decided not to continue forward as that would simply be asking for death.
“Without flying, there’s no way to approach the area forbidden to life…” Ye Fan didn’t look back as he followed his old path. While the knights had yet to react, he quickly ran out of the primal forest, deciding to hide by mixing himself in areas full of people.
Once Ye Fan arrived at the edge of the mountain range, he suddenly noticed a powerful knight mounted upon an ink-black scaled beast circling over the mountain forest.
“A fifth powerful knight…” Ye Fan stared up in a daze, muttering, “Were they all sent out by Jiang Yichen?”
“They only brought about ten knights with them. If they were to immediately send out five, how could Jiang Yifei and Jiang Caixuan not notice? That’s impossible!”
“Could it be they’re also in on it?”
“Or it could even be possible that those two also sent out people…”
Ye Fan’s heart was somewhat cold.
Jiang Yifei in his white clothing had appeared extremely refined and handsome. With his jade-like appearance, he appeared extremely transcendent. As for Jiang Caixuan, she was very elegant and graceful, definitely deserving to be called a beautiful woman. Although she appeared like a proud person, she was very sympathetic to little Tingting, giving Ye Fan a good impression of her.
But now, Ye Fan didn’t understand what was going on. Just what role did these two play in his current situation? He couldn’t tell whether they really were as terrible as his assumptions made them out to be. Human nature was very complicated, and it was difficult to be certain.
“I hope those two don’t have any relation to this. Otherwise, if Tingting has to live in such a complicated family, I really don’t know if that is a blessing or a calamity…” Ye Fan was somewhat worried now for little Tingting and Uncle Jiang.
That night, Ye Fan stealthily snuck back into Uncle Jiang’s tiny restaurant. He could see two beasts circling around the mountain foothills surrounding the small town, but the most dangerous place was sometimes the safest place. He relaxed, peacefully resting a night.
Ye Fan only left the small town the next day, fleeing into the distance.
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Three days later, Ye Fan was sleeping in an empty area of the countryside when he saw a Jiang Family knight flying quickly overhead. This immediately alarmed him. How could they catch up to him so fast? How did they continue to know where he was?
“The Ancient Desolation Noble Families are too frightening. If I can’t enter that area forbidden to life, how am I supposed to escape from them?” Ye Fan anxiously wondered.
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In the end, Ye Fan entered one of Yan’s huge cities. He hoped that he might be able to conceal himself within a vast sea of people.
Other than the capital, this was Yan’s largest city. The number of people living here was definitely not lower than a million, and it was extremely busy. The streets were wide enough to contain a never-ending stream of people and carriages. The sounds of peddlers hawking their wares sounded out from both sides of the street.
Ye Fan had constantly been on the run these few days, and was extremely exhausted. Entering the city, he let out a relieved sigh. It wasn’t like the Jiang Family’s knight could once more appear on the large street, right?
At this time it was already noon. Ye Fan’s stomach rumbled, but feeling his robes, he bitterly smiled as he didn’t have any money. This life and death chase had truly reduced him to a sorry state, and he was now in such a terrible plight.
“First I need to find a way to eat. I can’t continue starving my body. I still need the energy to run.” Ye Fan simply didn’t have any desire to explore this city. He quickly searched for a place to eat.
Suddenly, Ye Fan’s gaze focused upon a familiar figure. It was unexpectedly Li Xiaoman!
She no longer appeared aged, having already regained her youth. She was around 170 cm tall, slender and elegant. Her pure white clothes softly blew in the breeze, and she seemed to have an air above mortality.
Whether it was the past or present, Li Xiaoman had always been very pretty. Her looks were quiet and exquisite, and he wasn’t sure whether it was due to cultivating, but her skin now seemed to shine and flicker with white light, as if formed from fine jade.
Her black hair fluttered in the breeze, making her skin appear even brighter. Long eyelashes accentuated her large eyes. She seemed almost spiritual. Her neck was long like a swan, elegant and graceful, and two long legs grew out of her small waist. Her build was very straight and elegant, almost perfect.
Compared to the past, she seemed to have lost a bit of flamboyancy and gained an additional spirituality. She seemed like a cold fairy overlooking the world, possessing an additional immortal air.
Ye Fan had never expected to see her here, and he naturally couldn’t help but recall many things. There were sweet moments, yet there were also heartless and bitter moments. He turned around, not wanting to meet her under such circumstances.
Li Xiaoman clearly didn’t notice Ye Fan. She was outstanding amongst her peers, graceful and spiritual. Her beautiful transcendent appearance caused many heads to turn back and look at her, so she naturally wouldn’t notice a distant haggard and exhausted youth.
Ye Fan started to walk away, but in his hurry, he actually accidentally bumped into someone.
“Little beggar, do you even know how to walk? The road is this wide, but you still bump into me!” The people in front of him were a couple of young men, as well as a pretty woman with a disagreeable expression. Ye Fan had accidentally knocked into her just now.
“Sorry!” Ye Fan hastily apologized.
“Junior sister, quickly check to see if you lost anything. Right now there are a lot of beggars who specialize in stealing things this way,” warned one of the men. He blocked Ye Fan’s path, not letting him leave.
Ye Fan had been running for many days now, and his clothes were now both dirty and torn. His face was covered in smudges, making him truly appear like a little beggar.
“Senior brothers, senior sister…” Just at this moment, Li Xiaoman walked over. Although the large road held many people, when they saw such a beauty, they could not help but form a path for her, allowing her to quickly arrive.
“Let him go, I didn’t lose anything.” The woman who had been bumped just now frowned.
Ye Fan wanted to turn and leave, but Li Xiaoman had already arrived in front of him and seen him.
“It’s you!”
Ye Fan stopped, not expecting he would really meet her in the end.
“Junior sister, you know this little beggar?” The young men all appeared startled.
At this moment, Ye Fan’s clothes were ragged and shabby, and his whole body was covered in dust. Even his expression was haggard and exhausted. Having run for many days, his body and mind were both weary. Adding on his ruined clothes, no matter how you looked at him, he would seem one of the very dregs of society.