Chapter 343: When a Dragon is in Shallow Waters, Shrimps Mock It; When a Tiger is on the Plains, Dogs Bully It

I do not know how much time had passed.

Floating aimlessly, everything before his eyes was pitch black.

Qing Yuan felt dazed and disoriented, conscious only of the biting cold surrounding him.

He vaguely remembered that Jin Lan had tried to expose him to the Sun family patriarch in order to make his own escape. But Qing Yuan had been on his guard, cutting Jin Lan's scheme short midway by causing the guiding light to burst forth between the two of them.

Then the Sun family patriarch had exerted his full might, bearing down upon them.

Jin Lan, who had already attained the status of an Upper Immortal, managed to hold out for merely three breaths under that immense pressure before turning into fine dust and scattering with the fierce wind.

With the ancient mirror shielding the crown of his head, Qing Yuan had not been reduced to ashes on the spot, but he had been struck by a colossal force, flung far away, and plunged into the water. He had gathered his last strand of true qi and executed the Stealth Technique acquired from Wu Nan.

This so-called Stealth Technique could conceal one's aura, but it was hardly profound; theoretically, it should have been impossible to deceive the Sun family patriarch.

Only later had he faintly heard the whistle of a sword—presumably the precious sword of Zhengxing, a disciple of the Upright Dao Sect, being unsheathed to stop the Sun family patriarch.

After that, he had drifted downstream, and until now... he had no idea how much time had elapsed.

"Just how long has it been?"

He forced his eyes open.

It was currently daytime, and the bright light was intensely glaring, causing a sharp pain in Qing Yuan's eyes and forcing him to shut them again.

He was still in the river, but he seemed to have traveled a very long distance away from Fuchong Mountain.

The river water surrounding him was bone-chilling. Even as a cultivator who was already impervious to the heat of summer and the cold of winter, he still shivered slightly.

With his eyes closed, he visualized June rising above his head, illuminating a nine-tiered jade pavilion, and only then did he steady his mind, allowing him to use his willpower to guide the *Yellow Court Immortal Scripture* into motion once more.

"The ancient mirror is upon my chest."

"The iron rod is in my hand."

Though his eyes remained closed, he could still sense the locations of his two destined supreme treasures.

Destined supreme treasures were, after all, a part of one's own being.

...

The river gurgled, its sound clear and crisp.

Qing Yuan had drifted down the river and happened to be washed ashore, yet his injuries were severe, leaving him unable to move.

Suddenly, footsteps approached—there were more than a dozen of them.

"Big Brother..." a slightly youthful voice said, "This haul didn't fetch us all that much."

"Enough," another replied. His voice was steady and carried an air of maturity, sounding like a middle-aged man as he spoke slowly: "We are not like we used to be; for now, we can only waylay small caravans and handle minor jobs. If we pull off a few more jobs like this, we'll naturally be able to recruit more brothers in the future. When that time comes, we can go back to making big scores just like before."

Someone nearby sighed, "It's just a pity we provoked characters we shouldn't have in the past."

As soon as these words were spoken, the footsteps of the group paused, and the atmosphere seemed to grow somewhat subtle.

The aforementioned middle-aged leader said in a low voice, "Are you saying I was wrong back then?"

"I wouldn't dare... I wouldn't dare..." The person who had just sighed immediately became flustered. Yet he was not a fool and quickly changed the subject, asking, "Big Brother, what should we do with those people?"

The leader did not seem inclined to dwell on the matter. He grunted and casually replied, "The old rule: kill the men, keep the women."

...

Qing Yuan heard these dialogues clearly, and his mind grew somewhat clearer. The group of people who had arrived were mostly likely highway robbers and bandits.

At present, he was unable to move, which was rather troublesome.

Fortunately, the footsteps gradually faded into the distance, heading in a different direction.

Just when Qing Yuan thought the danger had passed, the youthful voice that had spoken first suddenly cried out, "Big Brother, look in the river..."

As these words entered his ears, Qing Yuan's heart sank.

"Why is there a dead body?"

The leader's tone held a hint of suspicion before he commanded, "Go check it out..."

The young man who had pointed out Qing Yuan hesitated for a moment before mustering up his courage, lifting his feet, and walking toward Qing Yuan.

Qing Yuan lay prone by the water's edge, his breathing faint. He felt the footsteps draw closer, and then someone pressed down on his shoulders.

Qing Yuan channeled his true qi, directing it to his eyes.

The man turned Qing Yuan over, and upon doing so, saw this "dead body" suddenly open its eyes, shooting out two beams of piercing light.

"Ah..." The youth let out a cry of alarm, falling backward to the ground. He scrambled with hands and feet, retreating continuously until he was somewhat further away, whereupon he managed to stand up, turned tail, and fled while shouting, "A corpse has revived! A corpse has revived!"

His voice faded into the distance, followed immediately by another loud thud as he was kicked to the ground by the leader.

"What do you mean by a corpse reviving?" The middle-aged man grunted. "It's not like you haven't taken lives before. Having killed so many people, what are you afraid of regarding a corpse reviving?"

The youth turned pale, lowering his head without daring to retort, thinking to himself: *Precisely because I've killed people and have a guilty conscience, that's why I'm terrified...*

The middle-aged man shoved him aside, strode forward, and said, "This fellow is merely fortunate enough to have survived, what corpse reviving?"

He reached the riverbank, looked down with a fierce expression, and upon seeing Qing Yuan's face, his expression suddenly shifted, causing him to take a step back in shock.

"It's you?"

The middle-aged man's voice carried a slight tremor.

Qing Yuan frowned slightly. He did not recognize this middle-aged man at all, and while he was feeling puzzled, he saw yet another person appear before him.

This person was merely a youth, relatively lean and short, with slightly narrowed eyes that revealed a trace of gloominess.

As for this youth, Qing Yuan actually found him somewhat familiar.

Not long after he first arrived in Nanliang, he had been targeted by this very youth, only to be waylaid midway, which ultimately led to Gu Cang launching a massacre and drawing Baiyue's attention. And now... he had run into this skinny youth once again.

In that case, the group of people before him were the remnants of those bandits from back then?

Qing Yuan's brows gradually furrowed.

That day, he had killed the bandits carrying the densest baleful aura, while those who escaped were minor figures with lighter blood debts. But judging from what he saw today, these bandits, who originally had lighter blood debts, were nearly all stained with a thick and heavy aura of bloody slaughter, showing that they had plundered and killed many more people during this period.

Qing Yuan let out a silent sigh in his heart, thinking to himself: *To fail to exterminate evil completely is the greatest of evils.*

If he had slaughtered them all that day, perhaps he could have prevented the carnage they had wrought in the meantime.

...

This band of robbers clearly recognized Qing Yuan. Each of them was alarmed, retreating en masse and exchanging uneasy glances. Those with a slightly weaker nerve were overcome with fear and intended to flee.

Yet at that moment, the middle-aged leader raised his hand and shouted, "Look closely, he has already sustained heavy injuries and cannot move."

At these words, everyone came to a halt.

The skinny youth walked forward and chuckled, saying, "Truly... life is full of unexpected reunions."

Back then, he had targeted Qing Yuan and sent word to the others, little knowing that he was kicking an iron plate. Almost the entire group had been wiped out, and their chief had been slain on the spot. Afterward, if not for his ties to the third chief, he would have been skinned and deboned by the numerous brothers.

Now that the third chief had become the big boss, his own status had risen accordingly.

Yet he had never imagined that in this lifetime, there would come a day when he could exact vengeance and wipe out old grudges.

"This is wonderful..."

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