Chapter 117: The Valley of Reincarnation

"Damn it! It’s a diversion!" A-Tai cursed under his breath and rushed back.

As he arrived, he saw their young mistress being held hostage by a strange young man.

"Kid, if you don't want to die, release our mistress immediately, or else..."

"Or else what?" Before he could finish, Su Yifan interrupted him with a calm tone.

"You..." A-Tai was consumed by fury, but he dared not step forward.

At that moment, the woman held by Su Yifan spoke up, asking, "Fellow Daoist, whether you want money or something else, we can negotiate."

The woman was dressed in red, her smooth, elegant long hair fluttering in the breeze. She was breathtakingly beautiful, and as the wind blew, a faint, sweet fragrance reached Su Yifan’s nose.

"Look at that; this is how a civilized conversation should go. You should be glad you ran into me. If it had been someone else, your mistress would already be dead." Su Yifan glanced at the group around him, then said nonchalantly, "Don't worry, I won't hurt you. I just wanted to ask for directions."

Ask for directions? Hearing that he only wanted directions, the woman in red breathed a sigh of relief. "What directions does the Fellow Daoist need?"

"It’s nothing much. I just wanted to know, how do I get to Samsara Valley?"

"You're going to Samsara Valley, too?" The woman in red looked startled.

Seeing her reaction, Su Yifan raised an eyebrow. "Are you planning to go to Samsara Valley as well?"

The woman in red nodded. "Yes, we are from the Qingshan Sword Sect. My father and the others went to Samsara Valley to search for medicinal herbs a few days ago and have yet to return. I was worried something might have happened to them, so I decided to head to the valley."

The Qingshan Sword Sect was a third-rate sect in these vast mountains. They were forced to search for herbs because a second-rate sect was demanding protection money. Hearing that Samsara Valley was exceptionally dangerous, the Sect Master had risked the journey himself.

Su Yifan had assumed they were treasure hunting, like the immortal cave he had encountered previously, but he hadn't expected their goal to be the same as his.

*Oh no.* He suddenly realized something. If they harvested all the herbs, wouldn't his trip be in vain?

With that thought, Su Yifan immediately said, "Since you are also heading to Samsara Valley, you must have a map, right? Hand it over, and I'll let you go."

"We have a map, but release our mistress first," A-Tai said, pulling the map from his person.

Seeing the map, the corners of Su Yifan’s mouth curled upward. In the next second, he vanished from where he stood. By the time he reappeared, he was right in front of A-Tai, snatched the map, and said, "Thanks."

***

After securing the map, Su Yifan vanished before the group’s eyes. Only then did the others react.

"His speed is incredible! Who exactly is he?" A-Tai exclaimed in shock. As a Martial Arts Grandmaster, he hadn't even been able to track the man's movements, which spoke volumes about his terrifying strength.

The woman in red stepped forward and asked, "A-Tai, could you tell who that was?"

A-Tai shook his head. "Young Mistress, based on his attire, he appears to be from the secular world, but his strength is not beneath mine."

"What? He's so young! How could he be stronger than you, A-Tai?" The woman was stunned. A-Tai was a mid-stage Martial Arts Grandmaster. The young man looked even younger than her, yet he was already a master. Moreover, he was from the secular world, which lacked the resources—like rare herbs and treasures—that sects like theirs relied on to advance. To be so strong without those advantages, he must be a martial arts genius.

"Young Mistress, what shall we do now? Should we continue to Samsara Valley?" A-Tai asked. He knew the general route now, but with that man in the picture, he feared for her safety.

"We go. Of course, we go," the woman in red stated firmly. Her father and the elders’ fates were unknown; she could not sit idly by.

***

Meanwhile, having obtained the map, Su Yifan soon found the entrance to Samsara Valley. It was a hidden, overgrown canyon; without the map, it would have taken him quite some time to locate. He stood at the entrance and looked inside; unlike the clear skies outside, the interior was shrouded in thick, swirling mist. He stepped inside without a second thought.

***

Inside the valley, poisonous fog reduced visibility to less than two meters.

"Sect Master, shouldn't we find the exit and leave?" a middle-aged man asked.

"No. We have come this far. If we leave without the herbs, our Qingshan Sword Sect will be forced to become a vassal to others," replied an elderly man in grey robes. He was Mo Xingtian, the current Sect Master of the Qingshan Sword Sect.

The middle-aged man sighed and looked at the compass in his hand. "The humidity is too high, and the magnetic field is distorted. My compass is useless."

"What do we do? If we don't find the Tuoluo Flower soon, our detoxification pills won't last much longer."

"How many are left?" Mo Xingtian asked.

The man checked the jade bottle. "Only six left—just enough for one more dose each."

"What!" Mo Xingtian’s brow furrowed. In this toxic fog, one pill only protected them for two hours. If they didn't find the herb by then, they would be wiped out.

Suddenly, the man with the compass pointed to a faint red light ahead. "Found it! It's ten meters ahead!"

Hope surged through the group. They had been in this hellish place for three days; they finally found it. Guided by the middle-aged man, they reached the Tuoluo Flower, which emitted a faint, enchanting red light.

"Good! Pick it, and let’s find the exit," Mo Xingtian ordered.

An elder stepped forward to retrieve the flower while the others stood guard. Suddenly, a chilling, hissing sound echoed through the air.

"Ah! No, don't..." the elder screamed.

The group turned in horror to see the elder being hoisted into the air. As they looked up, they saw two massive, lantern-like red eyes glowing in the darkness behind him.