Chapter 254: Chapter 254: Sword King Sect Disciple Luo Hedong, Demon Lord Impersonates Ye Feng
There were only a few Two-Star Forces in the Southern River Basin.

County King City, Divine Wind Sword Sect, Myriad Islands Alliance, Sword King Sect.

Aside from these four, the other Two-Star Rank powers were very low-key and hadn’t appeared in the public eye for a long time, as if they were waiting for something.

At this stage, the active Two-Star Rank forces in the Southern River Basin were the aforementioned four, collectively known as:

One City, One Alliance, Double Sword Sects.

The strength of the Divine Wind Sword Sect was roughly the same as that of the Sword King Sect.

However, one was in the south, and the other in the north, quite far from each other.

People didn’t know why Luo Hedong had come from the Sword King Sect to this place, or why he had been trapped by the Tree Demon, but it was his private affair, and it wasn’t convenient for others to ask.

“So it turns out you’re an Inner Sect Disciple from the Two-Star Rank Sword King Sect, my apologies for the oversight!” Shi Lei cupped his hands in a salute.

“We come from the Misty Sect outside Whitefloat City,” Huo Yunjie introduced, “This is my Eldest Senior Brother Shi Lei, I am the Second Disciple Huo Yunjie, and these two are my junior disciples, Long Tianxing and Wang Ping’an.”

Upon hearing this, Luo Hedong and the other cultivators were stunned.

“I know Whitefloat City, but I have never heard of the Misty Sect?”

“It must be a newly rising power, right? Judging by the talent and strength of these fellow daoists, I guess the Misty Sect must be a newly certified One-Star Force.”

“That makes sense. We’ve been trapped for several months, so it’s normal not to be aware of the outside world.”

“Regardless, Brother Huo’s sword technique was truly terrifying, capable of chopping down a Tree Demon that was nearly as powerful as a Demon General.”

The cultivators present discussed among themselves, still feeling shaken.

They had come to the mountains to train, and ended up being captured by the Tree Demon. The number of people had shrunk from hundreds to just a few dozen, with ninety percent offered as sacrifices.

After the battle they had just experienced, more than half of the people were lost, and now, only about fifteen cultivators had survived.

The number had drastically reduced from several hundreds to just a handful, which was a heavy loss.

Thinking of this, everyone sighed in sorrow.

Such was the nature of cultivation.

A moment’s carelessness could lead to complete annihilation.

“Fellow daoist, until we meet again!”

“Until we meet again.”

“I need to go bury the bodies of my sect brothers first. After I return, I still need to take care of their families, sigh!”

“Take care, everyone!”

In the blink of an eye, those dozen or so surviving cultivators had all left.

As for the materials from the Tree Demon’s body, they couldn’t care less about taking them. Having experienced life and death, many things seemed less important to them; their current desire was to return to their sects, take a bath, and rest for a while.

Luo Hedong didn’t leave.

He sheathed his Spirit Sword and cupped his hands to Huo Yunjie, “Brother Huo, the move you used just now resembled the Sword Drawing Technique, but why is it so powerful?”

“This is a sword technique developed by our Sect Leader. It’s said to be as powerful as a Fifth Grade Magic. As for why it’s so powerful, I’m not sure,” Huo Yunjie explained.

After he had mastered the Sword Drawing Technique, he discovered that Ye Feng had already known the move, mistakenly assuming it was Ye Feng who comprehended it first, which was why he said this.

“It’s actually from your esteemed sect’s Sect Leader, it looks like your Sect Leader must be a powerful and profound cultivator,” said Luo Hedong, his face showing respect.

He had begun to imagine Ye Feng as a transcendent figure with a celestial appearance, holding sword talismans in his left hand and commanding a flying sword in his right.

“Indeed, our Sect Leader is a transcendent figure… mmm!” the King of Cursed Praise Ping’an exclaimed with stars in his eyes, enthusiastically praising.

But before he could finish speaking, his mouth was covered.

“Alright, alright, we all know our Sect Leader is immensely talented, commands respect far and wide, and carries an imposing presence. Junior brother, no more talk!” Long Tianxing hurriedly warned him.

“Almost forgot, I’m the King of Cursed Praise, I can’t speak too well of our own people,” Wang Ping’an suddenly realized and quickly shut his mouth.

Behind the scenes.

When Ye Feng heard Wang Ping’an praising him, his scalp tingled with fear, and he almost wanted to rush over and beat him, but fortunately, Long Tianxing was quite sensible and covered Wang Ping’an’s mouth.

“Thank goodness, thank goodness!”

Ye Feng took a deep breath, scratched his head, and then realized he had actually lost a few strands of hair, which made him gasp in shock.

“Hiss! Wang Ping’an, I will seal your mouth!”

Ye Feng instantly understood that he had been cursed with poisonous flattery, and so he lost a few strands of hair, the corners of his mouth began to twitch, and he paced nervously back and forth in place.

“No way!”

“I need to find a way to keep Wang Ping’an’s mouth shut.”

Ever since witnessing the power of cursed praise, Ye Feng began to panic.

Wang Ping’an was a double-edged sword!

He was an alchemy prodigy and very important to the Misty Sect.

But Wang Ping’an was also the King of Cursed Praise; he couldn’t speak recklessly, or he might bring disaster upon himself.

…

In the Tree Demon Valley.

Luo Hedong sheathed his longsword and bowed to Huo Yunjie and the others, “I have matters to attend to and must take my leave now.”

He had traveled a great distance from the northern regions of the Southern River Basin to meet an old friend, and now, having been trapped for so long, he feared he might be presumed dead; he needed to leave the area as soon as possible.

“We’ll meet again,” Huo Yunjie bid farewell with a bow.

“When I am free, I will certainly visit Misty Peak to see all of you,” Luo Hedong nodded, pinched a spell with his hand, and the longsword on his back unsheathed automatically, emitting a crisp sound as it carried him away at high speed.

Turning his gaze to the corpse remains of the Tree Demons on the ground, Long Tianxing was excited.

“Eldest Senior Brother, Second Senior Brother, these items are of great value. Why don’t we transport them back to the Misty Sect now?” Long Tianxing suggested.

“But going back and forth like this, our pace of gathering spiritual medicine will slow, and we may not complete the task on time,” Huo Yunjie whispered.

“Cough cough!”

A loud cough sounded.

Four disciples turned around to see “Ye Feng” standing in the air with his hands behind his back, his gaze indifferent and his expression imposing as he looked at them.

“Leave this place to me, you all go ahead with the mission,” said this “Ye Feng” calmly.

“Yes.” The four disciples, unsure why Ye Feng was there but unable to doubt the familiar aura, immediately bowed and flew towards other directions.

Watching their retreating figures, “Ye Feng” breathed a sigh of relief, and his body gradually shifted into the appearance of the Thousand Faces Demon Monarch.

“How dare you impersonate me, the Sect Leader!”

The voice of Ye Feng’s displeasure suddenly resounded in the Thousand Faces Demon Monarch’s mind, making the latter tremble and quickly explain, “Sect Leader, I was just trying to relieve you of some of your worries, hehe!”

“Hmph, swiftly move everything useful from the valley to your abode, and in time, I will come to find you,” Ye Feng responded.

“Alright!”

The Thousand Faces Demon Monarch turned into a giant palm and eagerly grasped all the Tree Demon corpses, flying towards the Nanlu Mountain Range.

Atop Misty Peak.

Ye Feng watched the Heaven-Asking Mirror, recalling the scene of the Thousand Faces Demon Monarch impersonating him and found that the disguise was very convincing.

Without careful discernment, it would be impossible to notice any flaws.

“It seems I need to find time to transfer some spare spirit blood to the Thousand Faces Demon Monarch and improve his aptitude too. Such a talent for shape-shifting will be of great use in the future!” thought Ye Feng, his mind whirling with many ideas.

…

Within the Taiyue Mountain Range.

After this setback, the four disciples had all grown a bit and continued searching for spiritual medicine in the mountains.

Meanwhile, Luo Hedong, a disciple of the Sword King Sect, stood on his Flying Sword, speeding southward with anticipation in his eyes.

“It’s been two years since I last saw Brother Ji, I wonder how he’s doing now. With his talent, he’s probably about to enter the Element Gathering Realm, right?”

“What a pity that I was trapped for months; otherwise, I should be breaking through to the Element Gathering Realm by now as well.”

“And then there’s Huo Yunjie, whom I met today. Another Sword Dao genius—it really makes one wonder what kind of force is behind the Misty Sect.”

With these and other questions in mind, Luo Hedong continued his journey.

Such a journey lasted for a day!