The two of them hung on the tree like live targets for throwing darts with a blindfold. But Bai Fanlu tossed blades over with his eyes open and his skills weren’t very good. Some cut their flesh, making them howl in pain.

Bai Fanlu didn't have the time to pay any attention. It was important to save lives first, but fortunately, the people merely fainted because of the lack of oxygen and a simple spell woke them up.

As soon as they got up, the couple wanted to rush into the fire. It turned out that there was a child in the house, but he was probably…

The grief could be seen on the woman as she fainted after sobbing. Her husband watched the raging fire, slumped down and buried his head in sorrow.

But now was not the time to be sad. Bai Fanlu walked over and asked the man who could barely speak, "Have you seen those two over there?

They started the fire.” He pointed to the two live targets hanging on the tree.

When the man heard this, he rushed over with reddened eyes and hissed, "It's them, it's them!"

"They came today and insisted on having the herb that Old Zhang dug up... Old Zhang refused, and they left threats!...A few families witnessed it! It’s them!”

The man struggled to grab the head of one of the disciples and punched him.

He spoke very incoherently, but Bai Fanlu understood.

In the original plot, Er Cang Mountain was home to natural treasures, such as the Snow Lingzhi, but these things could only be found purely by chance. Sometimes even immortals couldn’t encounter one for decades, and sometimes ordinary people just happened to find them and ingest them as tonics since they knew nothing of them.

But it was too much to hurt so many lives for a single herb.

The man was filled with grief and anger, and he couldn't ease his hatred even after beating up the man.

Looking left and right, he found a big wooden stick, picked it up and rushed forward.

He hit that same disciple so ruthlessly that he most likely wouldn’t survive.

Seeing this, the other disciple trembled with fright, and roared while shaking, "Y-you better let me go now... My Shizun is coming soon! You guys better watch out!”

It would have been fine if he hadn’t said those words but now that he did, the grieving man was agitated and picked up the big wooden stick as he walked up to him. Bai Fanlu held him, "There is someone behind him. Let’s clarify the matter.”

Since one had already been killed, it would be wise to leave behind another for the trial. If the agenda was to steal the treasure and silence everyone, this disciple should fear being exposed. How could he be so brazen to ask to be released?

Unless, his Shizen acquiesced... Or even told them to do it!

Hearing Bai Fanlu's words, the Yimen disciple thought that his words intimidated him, and immediately added, "My Shizun is the most powerful among the Eight Immortal Sect Leaders! Let me go now and I may consider interceding for you!”

He suddenly changed into a domineering look, and Bai Fanlu couldn't help sneering, "Your Shizun? Is he called Shen Tongshan? The most powerful sect leader? Are you sure? Why haven't I heard of it?”

“You! How bold! How dare you speak of my Shizun’s name directly!”

Bai Fanlu said coldly, "It doesn't matter if I am bold, but you are the brave one. Your Shizun is known to have the reputation of ‘saving the world’. Why, as his disciples, are you murdering and setting fire here?”

He raised his hand, "So, I must bring you before him and let him discipline you.”

"You don't need to mention this. I will discipline him!” An older man's voice came suddenly, loud like a bell, containing an immortal power, carrying a warning tone in it.

Bai Fanlu resisted secretly, raising his eyes to see an old immortal approaching. He was also wearing white clothes and had white hair, with long eyebrows. It was the image of an old sage.

This was the leader of the Shubei Sect, Shen Tongshan.

As he landed, the two disciples were released. One of them directly collapsed onto the ground and the other knelt and hurriedly got up and hid behind the elderly man.

"Shi-shizun, the herb is..." The man whispered.

Shen Tongshan glared at him, then waved his hand seemingly casually.

But Bai Fanlu rushed in front of him and brought the fainted disciple up with spiritual power, and rolled him over.

"..." Shen Tongshan narrowed his eyes slightly, "My disciple made a mistake, and I shall be the one to punish him. It’s not appropriate for you to meddle, right?”

"Make a mistake?”

Bai Fanlu laughed loudly, "Shen Xianzun might as well look. The fire behind me hasn't gone out yet. There are more than a dozen innocent lives lost in it. Isn't it fair that your disciple pays with his life as well?”

As he said this he threw the motionless disciple in front of him into the fire.

When Shen Tongshan saw it, he immediately waved his sleeves. As if he didn't care about that disciple's life or death, he struck out with his palm, with the intention of pushing away from the fire.

"Shen Xianzun is really righteous to sacrifice your disciple. I am afraid that none would survive your palm strike. You might as well bury him here!”

Bai Fanlu met Shen Tongshan's strike impact, and then, the lifeless disciple was lifted up again, his limbs drooping like rag dolls as he was pulled back into the flames by an invisible force.

Shen Tongshan yelled and rushed toward the person. Bai Fanlu followed. The two faced each other with some strikes and quickly separated. The two men’s spiritual powers wrapped around the body of that disciple at the same time, intertwined in a stalemate.

"Young man," Shen Tongshan suppressed his anger and barely maintained a kind expression, "this is my disciple, and he must be buried according to the traditions of the Shubei Sect. You’d...better let go.”

Bai Fanlu smiled and said, "Why so troublesome? There’s still fire here, and isn’t it better to cremate him directly to comfort the spirit of the innocents?”

Shen Tongshan's face was distorted in the flames for a moment, "So are you bent on going against me?”

"I wouldn’t dare.”

Bai Fanlu answered coldly, "As long as Shen Xianzun tosses this person into the fire today, I shall take it that nothing happened.”

"..." Shen Tongshan narrowed his eyes, then, a ruthless look flashed across them.

This obvious hesitation alone was enough to confirm what Bai Fanlu had previously guessed, and it was true that the two disciples grabbed the herb for Shen Tongshen.

But now, by coincidence, the herb was with the dead disciple, so Shen Tongshan was reluctant to toss the body into the fire. He must find a way to bring it back with him

What a villain.

And he was being revered as a sage.

How ironic.

Bai Fanlu couldn't help thinking, ‘how could there be such a scum person in the Immortal Sect?’ He thought it would be best to shut down this Sect as soon as possible.

"Shen Xianzun... Have you decided?”

Now, the remaining traces of hypocrisy on Shen Tongshan's face were gone. He raised his eyebrows, and did not hide the wrinkles that were completely deformed by his anger and fully revealed his true colours.

"Since you are so stubborn, then, don’t blame me for being merciless!”

He flipped his palm, and leaped toward Bai Fanlu. A gust of wind was stirred up and the veil of the hat lifted.

Seeing his face, Shen Tongshan was taken aback for a moment, and then laughed, "I was still wondering who might you be? So it is you—"

“Ling Qingzi’s beloved disciple, Bai Fanlu! You are too bold!”

A strong spiritual energy was slammed over, and Bai Fanlu struck hand seals to block it. The two forces collided together, and light radiated in midair. The tongue of flames was blown out, but a larger flame emerged in an instant.

Bai Fanlu took a small step back, Shen Tongshan's move obviously had murderous intent. So, if he were to fight him head-on, Bai Fanlu would be at a disadvantage since his foundation was not his opponent’s equal.

Whenever the two exchanged blows, they would lose control of the dead disciple, causing him to fall to the ground.

Shen Tongshan didn't care about him at the moment, and caressed his beard leisurely, "You're a demon and still dare to show your face. It just so happens that I need someone like you.”

He turned to another disciple below, and deliberately asked, "This demon set fire to the village and caused chaos. Fortunately, we passed by and shall teach him a lesson. What do you think about this plan?”

The disciple nodded hurriedly, "It’s great! Shizun is wise!”

Bai Fanlu frowned slightly. This old man was a sly one to come up with plans so quickly. And even thought of making him the scapegoat.

Moreover, this man and Liufeng Sect were both secretly dissatisfied with Ling Qingzi. If he blamed it on Bai Fanlu, other sects would find a reason to turn against Ling Qingzi.

Absolutely not!

Bai Fanlu's thoughts turned sharply, and he immediately thought of a countermeasure. Next, he manipulated Cang Jin to pull up the corpse, turned and ran off without a word.

He didn't really run, but wanted to lead the two people after him. If he didn't grab the corpse, they might take the opportunity to snatch back the herb.

Sure enough, both the master and the disciple gave chase. Bai Fanlu was quite familiar with this area, and soon found a place to hide the corpse, and then appeared before them again. The area was uninhabited, and he didn't have to worry about being seen.

When the two of them caught up, Bai Fanlu's hand had just left his forehead, propped up his chin, and a band of ice was now looming between his fingers. As if waiting for someone to come, he just stood still.

The moment Shen Tongshan saw Bai Fanlu he felt something was wrong, but he couldn't pinpoint what. There was no fire here, and the dense forest was so dark that only vague shadows could be seen.

Shen Tongshan motioned to his disciple to go around Bai Fanlu for an ambush.

How could Bai Fanlu not know about this plan? He already quietly activated a barrier when those two were approaching, and was determined not to let them out of this place alive.

With the help of his awakened demonic energy, he was attempting a desperate approach.

Now he had reached a point of life and death. The opponent had a formidable background, and wanted to kill and even frame him. Bai Fanlu had to make the first move and do so cleanly without leaving any loose ends.

Otherwise, not only would he not survive, even Tianshu Sect and Ling Qingzi will also be implicated.

When an idea came to his mind, Bai Fanlu was surprised at his decisiveness, as if someone made a quick judgement for him and told him that this had to be it.

But since he removed the Ice Band, he clearly felt a vast demonic energy in his body, rushing to his limbs and entering his bones, quickly filling the meridians around his body, and instantly arousing an endless and mighty energy.

Shen Tongshan didn't know the danger he was approaching, and said, "Bai Fanlu, it's useless for you to escape! I will kill you today to let Ling Qingzi see...!”

The shadow in the dark rushed to the front in an instant, and Shen Tongshan hadn't even noticed how Bai Fanlu acted. He only sensed a fierce murderous aura racing toward him. But in the end, he was still a capable opponent and managed to dodge.

While doing so, he gathered energy in his palm and countered a strike towards Bai Fanlu’s head. Bai Fanlu swerved and avoided, and his white robes followed his movements as if white butterflies were fluttering behind thousands of flowers. Like this, the two exchanged countless blows.

The two went back and forth without any distinction. After so many rounds, the disciple remained hidden behind a tree, watching the battle nervously. Seeing that Shen Tongshan seemed to be at a disadvantage in physical strength, he planned to take advantage of the opportunity to impose an opportune strike, but before he could, a sword struck his throat from behind.

“…”

But the two who fought hard in the air didn't notice this side.

Shen Tongshan felt the strain and steadily retreated. At this point, he wondered why his disciple below still didn't act.

But he didn't know that his panic was noticed in Bai Fanlu's eyes. Bai Fanlu found his chance and no longer wanted to continue with this opponent. The long sword in his hand was twirled around with Cang Jin, cutting down like a purple ray of light.

Shen Tongshan was about to block this move, but suddenly realised that the purple ray had a strong aura. It directly penetrated his barrier, and in the next moment, it burst out of his body.

Shen Tongshan looked down at the big, gaping hole in his chest as his eyes widened in horror.

Then, he shook and fell from the air onto the ground, still clutching at his chest.

It was a pity that no matter how he applied any treatment technique, the hole seemed to continue to burn and corrode.

Bai Fanlu also fell down, retracted his sword, and walked towards him slowly.

Shen Tongshan's face became more and more twisted because of the pain. He seemed to want to say something cruel, but after seeing the appearance of Bai Fanlu, the fierceness on his face gradually changed into disbelief.

He wanted to move but couldn't. There were two very different auras swirling around him, one side was an incomparably pure immortal spiritual energy, and the other was a vast demonic one.

The sword in his hand was humming, and Shen Tongshan tried his best to break free. He backed a few steps, but just after making a move, Bai Fanlu received it with his bare hands.

As easy as lifting a cloud, Bai Fanlu struck a spell, counter-attacked, and sent the energy slamming straight against a tree.

In the darkness, a tall tree's shadow swayed from left to right, then fell with a crash.

"You..." Shen Tongshan stared at Bai Fanlu.

His body still stood still, but his breath changed drastically, and was definitely not as oppressive as earlier.

"Monster... You really are a monster!”

Shen Tongshan spat fiercely, his gaze was strong but clearly showing that he was intimidated.

It would seem that he was not sure before that Bai Fanlu was a demon, but confronted him out of a false sense of righteousness.

"I'm a demon, are you so surprised?”

Bai Fanlu's voice was not gentle and indifferent, but cold and unprovoked.

"It seems that you have lived in vain for these hundreds of years, and you haven't even seen a demon before. How dare you call yourself a sage? No wonder there are some villains under your Sect… If the upper beam is not straight, the lower beams tend to be crooked.”

"You… you…"

Shen Tongshan was so angry that he wanted to point to Bai Fanlu, but when he raised his hand halfway, he felt a growing pressure on his body.

That iron lock-like demonic energy became stronger, and it was like a soul-crushing pressure. His knees softened and he had to support himself with his sword. Even so, he fell to the ground.

"I am an esteemed immortal cultivator. How can I bow and kneel to you demons. Don't even think about it..."

But before he finished his sentence, his sword suddenly broke, and he was forced to stagger and fall to the ground.

Bai Fanlu took a step to the side and replied "You don't need to kneel to me. I’m not worthy.”

As he said this, his expression was cold, and he pointed to the direction that Shen Tongshan was facing, "It is them you need to kneel to. Those people who lost their lives in the fire were innocent! You have it easy just by kneeling in apology to them.”

Shen Tongshan was an elder in the immortal world. Everyone admired him and he had never suffered such humiliation. He was ashamed to death and roared, "You demon! How dare you do this to me! Just you wait!”

An energy gathered in his palm and ignited a large meteor-like ray in the sky. Bai Fanlu didn't stop him at all, but did that man want him to wait for the attack?

Why should he wait?

Only a fool would wait.

His fingers moved slightly, and a purple ray penetrated Shen Tongshan's chest, directly submerged in his heart.

Shen Tongshan opened his eyes wide, as if he wanted to say something, but couldn't say it anymore. With that, he fell to his side, twitched twice, and died.

He had never thought that his famed and heroic journey would end tonight. That was what Bai Fanlu read from Shen Tongshan's eyes.

This person may have been righteous at the beginning of his cultivation path. It was just that gradually, he was spurred by profit. But it was really a bad deal to trade his virtues for a mere herb. But before he died, he still didn’t know how to repent.

So it was better for him to enter the reincarnation cycle again so as not to stain the reputation of the immortal world.

Bai Fanlu raised his eyes and looked at the location where the disciple had previously hidden, but didn't see anyone.

Sure enough, that coward must have fled after seeing his Shizun lose. But in this enchantment, that man couldn't have run far.

Bai Fanlu approached the tree and saw a fresh corpse lying sideways on the ground.

That disciple was dead. His throat had been slit with a single slash of a sword.

Who had entered his barrier so silently?

If someone else broke in, he should have felt it. So who is it?

Bai Fanlu was still thinking about it when he felt dizzy all of a sudden. His eyes dimmed, and he only didn't fall down because he managed to grab the tree trunk in time.

The battle with Shen Tongshan was costing him his cultivation base, and the demonic energy had just awakened. After all, his physical body was too weak to contain the turbulent new energies, and this was the consequence.

After a moment of regaining his balance, Bai Fanlu hurriedly tied Ice Silk Bing Shaoback onto his forehead.

But just as he stretched his hand to the back of his head, his body shook involuntarily, and he was about to collapse. A pair of arms stretched out from behind to support him.

"Shixiong, let me help you.”