Chapter Ninety-Five: The Scorpion Demon’s Cold Manor

“Here it is!”

Lu Han and Jia Cheng had hurried along for most of the day before finally arriving.

Looking out over the boundless plain, there was no sign of any Evil Wind Cavern at all.

Lu Han had heard many rumors about the cavern, but no one had ever described its appearance in detail. On the map Qian Santong had given him, only its general direction was marked, and by that bearing, it truly should have been right here.

Lu Han rubbed his nose. There was only one possible explanation: the Evil Wind Cavern lay beneath the ground.

At that thought, he could not help feeling a jolt of awe. The infamous and perilous Evil Wind Cavern was actually buried beneath the Soul-Rending Plain.

Seeing Lu Han’s astonishment, Jia Cheng was unsurprised. When he had come here for the first time, he had been even more shocked than Lu Han.

“Brother Lu, let’s go,” Jia Cheng said.

He had once considered simply seizing Lu Han and forcing him to reveal the method for catching the Soul-Seizing Mink, but after thinking it over, he abandoned the idea.

By Lu Han’s account, he had only stumbled upon the capture method by chance. It would be better to let Lu Han try first, so Jia Cheng could observe the process himself. And even if Lu Han was beside him, how far could he run? He would never escape from his grasp.

A flash of greed passed through Jia Cheng’s eyes and was gone in an instant.

“It’s just ahead.” Jia Cheng led Lu Han forward for several dozen steps.

Though he had already guessed as much, when he reached the cave mouth Lu Han still could not hide his surprise. Before him was a round opening more than ten meters across, and from within it blew a constant stream of icy wind. Could it be that this underground entrance was connected to the outside world? Even here, there was wind.

“Whooo...”

“Brother Lu, when I first came here, I was far less composed than you. Who would have thought that the famed Evil Wind Cavern was actually beneath the earth?” Jia Cheng laughed, then sprang into the cave.

Lu Han did not hesitate in the slightest and jumped in after him. He had to enter the Evil Wind Cavern no matter what!

The cavern was strange indeed. Though it was underground, it was not dark at all; everything inside could be seen clearly. The interior was made entirely of rock walls of varying sizes, and from time to time another passage would appear, leading elsewhere.

Jia Cheng took out a map from his bosom.

Over the years, although no one had fully explored the Evil Wind Cavern, they had still pieced together six or seven tenths of it. From the accounts of their predecessors, the current map of the cavern had gradually been compiled.

This map could be bought in the Gulin Basin, but Lu Han had not known this trip would lead him to the Evil Wind Cavern, so he had not purchased one.

“I once saw a Soul-Seizing Mink in this place. It was very secluded. Back then I was alone, so there was no way I could have caught it, and I could only mark the location and leave in haste.” Jia Cheng pointed to a red dot on the map.

Lu Han stepped forward to look. The map of the Evil Wind Cavern was densely crisscrossed, so intricate it made one dizzy. The red mark was on the very edge of the map, and indeed it was a remote location.

Lu Han and Jia Cheng passed through several passages, and in a long, spacious cavern they encountered the first person in the Evil Wind Cavern.

When Jia Cheng saw who it was, his face changed dramatically. He stood frozen there, his legs trembling slightly. The man wore plain clothes, with two thick arms exposed, veins bulging beneath the skin. Most chilling of all was the scorpion-shaped tattoo on the left side of his face. As his features twitched faintly, the scorpion seemed almost alive, horrifying beyond measure.

“Sc... Scorpion Demon Leng Zhuang!” Jia Cheng’s teeth were chattering as he whispered the name.

The man was first taken aback when he saw Lu Han and the others. His gaze swept over Lu Han, and a trace of surprise flickered in his eyes. Even someone at the first level of the Innate Realm would need companions to dare enter the Evil Wind Cavern, yet the young man before him was only at the ninth level of the Acquired Realm, and from the aura he gave off, he had only just broken through.

A faint look of mockery appeared in the eyes of the man Jia Cheng had called Scorpion Demon Leng Zhuang. He said indifferently, “Overestimating yourselves.”

Then he strode away.

“Haa...” Seeing him leave, Jia Cheng let out a long breath. He raised a hand to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead, and only then realized his entire back was soaked through.

Lu Han could not help asking, “Who is he, to frighten you into this state?”

He found it odd. Jia Cheng was, after all, at the peak of the first level of the Innate Realm. That man’s aura had seemed to place him only at the second level of the Innate Realm, yet Jia Cheng had been terrified to such an extent that even his legs were shaking.

“Shh. Keep your voice down; he hasn’t gone far yet. If you want to die, don’t drag me with you!” Jia Cheng said in alarm, hurriedly dragging Lu Han away as he spoke.

The two walked for quite some time before stopping.

“That man is Scorpion Demon Leng Zhuang!” Jia Cheng said with lingering fear, as though he had just survived a brush with death.

“Scorpion Demon Leng Zhuang?” Lu Han asked, puzzled.

He knew very little about the Gulin Basin, let alone some Scorpion Demon Leng Zhuang.

Only then did Jia Cheng remember that this was Lu Han’s first time in the Gulin Basin, and he had no idea who Leng Zhuang was.

So he immediately told Lu Han about Leng Zhuang’s background and deeds.

Scorpion Demon Leng Zhuang.

About five years earlier, for reasons unknown, he had come to the Soul-Rending Plain. But Leng Zhuang had only the cultivation of the first level of the Innate Realm, so no one in the Gulin Basin paid him much attention. It was an encounter in battle that made him famous throughout the entire basin, so much so that few people dared provoke him after that.

Once, in the Gulin Basin, three men, all at the first level of the Innate Realm, somehow clashed with Leng Zhuang and hurled all manner of abuse at him. Although open fighting was not permitted within the basin, occasional conflicts did occur.

“Come out!” Leng Zhuang had said coldly only these four words, then walked out beyond the boundaries of the Gulin Basin. The three men were all at the first level of the Innate Realm; why should they fear him?

That incident drew nearly everyone in the Gulin Basin. One first-level Innate cultivator had challenged three others at the same level.

Martial practitioners moved swiftly, and soon almost everyone who had not gone out came to witness the battle.

One must understand that it was already difficult enough to defeat an opponent of the same rank, let alone face three at once.

Under the gaze of the entire basin, Leng Zhuang fought three against one and, at the cost of severe injuries, killed all three first-level Innate cultivators. From then on, his name spread far and wide.

Many who had not seen the battle because they were away at the time assumed the story was merely boastful exaggeration and came to challenge him. None of those who went to provoke Leng Zhuang ever came back alive, and even one second-level Innate cultivator was slain by him.

Because Leng Zhuang never spared anyone once he drew his blade, and because he did whatever suited his own whims, the scorpion tattoo on his face soon earned him the title of Scorpion Demon Leng Zhuang.

By now, Leng Zhuang had reached the second level of the Innate Realm, and even ordinary third-level Innate cultivators were unwilling to provoke him. Perhaps only the elders stationed at the strongholds of the great sects and major clans could suppress him somewhat. But then again, those people were the pillars of their respective forces and would not act lightly.

Thus, whenever outsiders in the Gulin Basin saw Leng Zhuang, they would choose to take a detour. Who knew when his mood might sour? By then, heads would roll, and there would be nowhere left to cry.

“Just now he did not make a move. Otherwise, the two of us would probably have ended up dead here,” Jia Cheng said with lingering dread.

Looking at Jia Cheng walking ahead of him, Lu Han murmured, “That Leng Zhuang must have seen our cultivation and deemed us beneath his notice, which is why he did not bother striking.”

With that, he took a large stride and followed after him.

Announcement: The final three weeks of this season’s web fiction league preliminary round are here. Those who have not joined yet should hurry! Massive prizes and the chance to become a legend await you. Click here to participate.