Chapter 0721 Journey to the Dark Moon Mountains

Chapter 0721: Heading to the Dark Moon Mountains

Qin Yun grew even more upset. He had originally hoped to get clarity about Yao Fang from Bingxing and Xie Qirou, then find a way to resolve the conflict between them.

But now, Bingxing and Xie Qirou didn't even know this Yao Fang person.

Yet Qin Yun was absolutely certain that Yao Fang was very familiar with both Xie Qirou and Bingxing.

"Sister Qi Rou, could it be that both you and Sister Bingxing had chunks of memory stolen, making you forget about Yao Fang?" Qin Yun asked again. "Little Meilian has that kind of ability!"

Xie Qirou thought for a moment and said, "Impossible! I can tell my memories are intact. If any part had been taken, I would definitely notice!"

Qin Yun also recalled Xie Wufeng and the others—they could indeed detect when parts of their memories suddenly vanished.

"Then who exactly is this Yao Fang? She’s just camped out in the third bead of the Nine Sun Divine Soul—what's a guy to do?"

The more Qin Yun thought about it, the more anxious and angry he became, plunging into gloom.

"Xiao Yun, if you get the chance, try talking to her and resolve the conflict between you two," Xie Qirou comforted him. "You and Bingxing worked things out, didn’t you? Maybe the same can happen with Yao Fang?"

"The reason Bingxing and I could reconcile was at least because we had some history from our past lives, and… and she still had some lingering feelings for me!" Qin Yun pouted. "But that Yao Fang? She can't stand me!"

Just thinking about Yao Fang’s attitude toward him filled Qin Yun with a sense of despair.

Xie Qirou gave a soft laugh. "Xiao Yun, be a little patient! Yao Fang has been trapped in that situation for so many years inside the third bead of the Nine Sun Divine Soul—it must've warped her mind."

"But she still remembers me, and out of respect for me, she didn’t take back the Nine Sun Divine Soul!"

"That means there’s still a chance to persuade her and get her to give you what’s inside the third bead."

"Sister Qi Rou, among the women you know, were there any who were on the small side?" Qin Yun asked.

"Of course, and quite a few! Xiao Yun, I grew up in the Celestial Palace, and many women there called me Xiao Rou," Xie Qirou said with a sigh. "Yao Fang might not be her actual name."

"And her voice… it’s very hoarse," Qin Yun added.

"The women I remember all had nice voices—none of them were hoarse," Xie Qirou said. "Xiao Yun, she’s under a curse, so her throat must have been affected. That voice probably isn’t her real one."

"If you can talk to her, try to ask around more or get her to reveal her real name. Then I might be able to figure out who she is."

Qin Yun had to table it for now, as he still needed to find Yang Shiyue.

He thought Yang Shiyue might know who Yao Fang was.

"Sister Qi Rou, do you really think there’s no way to remove that soul curse?"

Qin Yun believed that if he could help Yao Fang break the soul curse, not only would it resolve their conflict, but she might even be able to assist Xie Qirou and Bingxing.

"Only the Demon Immortal Emperor can lift the curse. I can’t even imagine who could have driven him to go that far to cast it. He must have truly hated Yao Fang to curse her like that," Xie Qirou said.

"She said it was my past life’s fault. Was my past life really so powerful that I could make the Demon Immortal Emperor target her?" Qin Yun asked again.

"How could that be? In your past life, you were just a Celestial King—the Demon Immortal Emperor could've squashed you like a bug!" Xie Qirou laughed. "Xiao Yun, don't sweat it. Let things take their course."

For now, all Qin Yun knew was that Yao Fang was incredibly strong—strong enough to make herself his sworn enemy.

He ended the conversation with Xie Qirou and went to the Guardian Hall to find Granny Ma. He let her know that he was heading to the Dark Moon Mountains.

Granny Ma knew Qin Yun had the Demon Star Overlord puppet, so she allowed him to go, only reminding him to be careful and avoid getting captured.

From Granny Ma, Qin Yun also learned that in the Youyue Mountain Range, there were many Martial Kings and Emperors Wu, all hailing from various regions of the Spirit Barrens.

"Sister Yang must be having a tough time hiding in the Youyue Mountain Range. I need to bring her out quickly!"

Qin Yun didn’t know the current situation in the Youyue Mountain Range, so he could only go and see for himself first.

He changed into simple black attire and waited until nightfall before leaving the Celestial Armory Palace alone.

...

As night fell, Qin Yun stepped out of the Celestial Armory Palace’s gate and immediately detected the presences of over a hundred Martial Lords and Martial Kings, all intentionally hidden.

When they noticed someone emerging, the hidden Martial Lords and Martial Kings immediately turned their attention. Seeing it was a middle-aged man, they stopped paying attention.

Qin Yun found it funny—various factions had sent spies here, likely to monitor his movements, all disguised as different people.

He passed by several Martial Kings without being detected and slipped out of the city unnoticed.

Once outside, he cloaked himself as he flew through the air toward the Youyue Mountain Range.

The Youyue Mountain Range was a good distance away, but pushing his speed, he could reach it in a few days.

The border between the Spirit Barrens and the Demon Barrens was long, and the Youyue Mountain Range straddled the border, with half of its territory within the range.

Without a flight artifact or a good one at that, Qin Yun had no choice but to fly through the night sky on his own.

Several hours later, well past midnight!

Qin Yun was flying over barren peaks when he suddenly sensed a faint presence far behind him.

"Someone’s following me!"

Shocked, Qin Yun immediately descended to the ground and activated his Piercing Mystic Art to burrow underground.

He left behind a Spirit Eye Pearl, allowing him to scan the area above through his mental energy.

"Xiao Yun, even after your mental energy took lunar form, it’s still strong, yet you only just noticed someone on your tail! This person must be extraordinary!" Ling Yuner said. "The only one who knew you left the Celestial Armory Palace was Granny Ma!"

"Maybe they didn’t start tracking me from the palace!" Qin Yun found it hard to believe someone could follow him.

First, they’d have to recognize him, then match his blistering pace while sensing his aura.

When he left the palace earlier, many Martial Kings had been posted at the gate, yet none recognized him at close range.

"Could it be a Half-Immortal?" Qin Yun frowned.

He held his position underground for a while until the Spirit Eye Pearl finally spotted a figure hovering in the sky.

The half-moon in the night sky bathed everything in pale blue, bright enough that without occasional thick clouds, Qin Yun wouldn’t have been able to use his shadow power.

Now, with the clouds dispersing, coming out now would give him away.

"Who is this guy? Instead of continuing the chase, he’s just lingering up there. Did he realize I’m still here?" Qin Yun wondered.

Boom!

Just as he pondered, the earth suddenly erupted beneath him!

"Is it a king-grade spirit talisman? And a fire attribute one at that? How naive—did they really think I'd be afraid of something like this?" Qin Yun found it amusing and continued to stay underground.

The ground was ablaze with raging flames, but Qin Yun remained hidden.

Boom after boom...

The figure in the sky kept hurling spirit talismans, pounding the earth into a sinking crater relentlessly.

Qin Yun burrowed through the earth like a mole, surprised that the person above could pinpoint his location with eerie precision—wherever he moved, an explosive talisman would land right above him.

"Xiao Yun, he’s just baiting you out. He’s no master, or else he would’ve attacked directly by now!" Ling Yuner remarked.

Qin Yun couldn’t sustain the Piercing Mystic Art for long, and moving underground was burning through his energy fast.

"Alright, time to face this bastard!" Qin Yun burst out of the ground and soared into the air.

He quickly closed the distance and saw a black-clad figure wearing a concealing hood, not even revealing their eyes.

"You coward!"

Qin Yun shouted and threw a punch from a distance, releasing a crushing shockwave that split the ground apart.

He expected the black-clad figure to engage in combat, but instead, the figure bolted at full speed toward the Darkmoon Mountain Range.

Qin Yun immediately gave chase.

"Get back here, you rat!"

He hurled punches one after another, but the slippery bastard dodged every one.

"Xiao Yun, what if he’s leading you into a trap?" Ling Yuner warned. "Don’t take the bait!"

Qin Yun considered this and stopped pursuing, altering his course slightly while continuing toward the Darkmoon Mountain Range.

Infuriatingly, the black-clad figure sped ahead and mocked him by keeping just ahead.

Enraged, Qin Yun changed his route again—only for the figure to reappear in front of him.

"He’s playing games with me!"

Furious, Qin Yun activated the Vanishing Shadow Ceasing Breath step, blinking out of sight.

Yet, the black-clad figure maintained incredible speed and still seemed aware of his pursuit.

"What the hell is this guy? How can they be so fast?" Qin Yun was at a loss—he couldn’t hit or catch the bastard.

After a moment’s thought, he touched down on the barren ground below.

Instead of flying, he sprinted across the ground.

As expected, the black-clad figure also landed and began running ahead of him.

"Idiot, you fell for it!" Qin Yun smirked inwardly, then activated his tree totem martial arts, manifesting spectral claws.

Hundreds of meters ahead of the black-clad figure, numerous vines suddenly shot up. The sprinting figure, caught off guard, stepped into the midst of the grasping vines and was instantly ensnared.

Seizing the opportunity, Qin Yun used Radiant Mirage, dashing forward at top speed. In mere moments, he closed the distance.

The black-clad figure was skilled as well, quickly breaking free from the vines. But just as they were about to flee, the Heavenly Lion Subduing Dragon Cauldron came down on them.

"Brother, it's me, Yuemei! I was wrong!" A girlish, pleading voice called out from within the cauldron.

"That damn girl!"

Qin Yun was both exasperated and amused, muttering under his breath before releasing Xiao Yuemei from the Heavenly Lion Subduing Dragon Cauldron.

Once the hood was removed, Xiao Yuemei's playful and adorable face was revealed.

Qin Yun immediately reached out, pinching her cute little cheeks.

"Yuemei, you're really too much!" Qin Yun chided without real anger while continuing to pinch her face.

"Brother, didn't you ask me to come find you?" Xiao Yuemei protested, squirming free from his grasp with a pout.

Indeed, Qin Yun had been searching for Xiao Yuemei, intending to team up with her to replicate the Rare Spirit Patterns!