Chapter 81 | With a Protagonist Halo, How Did I End Up the Villain?

Ye Fan searched the entire area but still found no trace of the Gale Wolf.

“Damn it... That beast never lets me rest...”

Ye Fan cursed under his breath. Just as he was about to give up,

he suddenly heard the sounds of battle echoing from nearby.

His heart stirred. Could the Gale Wolf be in danger?

He immediately rushed toward the source of the noise.

When he arrived, however, he realized it wasn't the Gale Wolf at all.

Instead, a cold-faced youth was locked in a life-or-death struggle with a Flame-Patterned Tiger.

Crimson, fiery patterns glowed all over the tiger's body as it swiped a blazing claw at the youth's face.

The youth didn't flinch, holding a gold brick that crackled with lightning.

With a rumble of thunder, he blocked the Flame-Patterned Tiger's attack head-on.

Then, the youth tapped his toes against the ground and leaped into the air. He accurately smashed the gold brick in his hand right onto the flame pattern on the tiger's front leg.

The beast roared in pain and recoiled. It immediately crouched to gather its strength and spat a fireball, which the youth swiftly dodged.

The fireball crashed into a nearby boulder, sending stone fragments flying in all directions.

Taking advantage of the opening, the youth closed in. The gold brick collided with the tiger's claws once more, sending sparks flying in all directions.

The human and the beast fought to a standstill, evenly matched.

Watching from the shadows, Ye Fan narrowed his eyes. This youth was surprisingly capable.

Then, his gaze drifted to a nearby cave entrance.

A six-leaf spiritual herb sparkling with starlight was swaying gently in the mist.

Ye Fan's eyes locked onto it. Break-Stage Grass! To think there was actually a stalk of Break-Stage Grass here.

He looked back at the combatants.

In an instant, he understood the situation.

The Flame-Patterned Tiger must be the guardian beast. The youth had decent luck to have stumbled upon a stalk of Break-Stage Grass.

But compared to Ye Fan's own luck, it fell a bit short.

A smirk played on Ye Fan's lips.

He would gladly accept this Break-Stage Grass!

With a flash of his body, he executed the Dustless Step and darted straight toward the herb.

He intended to pluck the Break-Stage Grass while the youth was fully occupied with the tiger.

Meanwhile, Fu Chen, who was fighting the tiger to the death, caught a glimpse of a shadow darting past from the corner of his eye.

Is someone trying to steal my prize?

Instantly, the Great Sect Master's instructions echoed in his mind:

In the secret realm, it doesn't matter if we get the opportunities ourselves, but we absolutely cannot let others benefit.

Especially doing all the hard work only for someone else to reap the rewards—we can't let that happen.

With that thought, Fu Chen immediately redirected his attack toward Ye Fan.

He also shouted at the top of his lungs, “Silly tiger, someone's stealing your herb!”

The Flame-Patterned Tiger, which had been fighting with growing excitement, suddenly froze.

Did this human just call me a silly tiger?

Crack, crack... Boom!

At that moment, the gold brick thrown by Fu Chen hurtled toward Ye Fan.

“Damn it...”

Ye Fan cursed under his breath, twisting his body to dodge the projectile.

However, this movement exposed his position. The moment the Flame-Patterned Tiger spotted Ye Fan, it flew into a rage.

Someone was actually trying to steal its spiritual herb!

With a mighty roar, its massive body lunged straight at Ye Fan.

Seeing the tiger clash with Ye Fan, Fu Chen hesitated for a fraction of a second before rushing forward to help the beast.

After all, in just this brief exchange, the Flame-Patterned Tiger had already sustained several wounds.

The thief wielded a blood-colored sword with terrifyingly exquisite skill.

If Fu Chen didn't help, the tiger would be dead in no time.

And once the tiger was dead, he stood no chance of defeating this newcomer alone.

Seeing Fu Chen join the fray, Ye Fan snarled in frustration,

“You're courting death!”

The Blood Jade Sword in his hand glowed with an even more menacing light. At the same time, he cursed his own stupid wolf in his heart. Where the hell is that lazy mutt?

Meanwhile, the Flame-Patterned Tiger was also somewhat surprised to see Fu Chen coming to its aid.

It had not expected this human to actually help it.

Hmm... When I eat him later, I'll make sure to swallow him whole to make it quick and painless.

I am, after all, a grateful tiger.

Thus, the two humans and the tiger descended into a chaotic, three-way brawl.

The clash of their techniques caused the clouds to churn and spiritual energy to erupt wildly.

Just as Ye Fan gained the upper hand and felt victory was within reach,

an enraged roar echoed through the valley:

“Demonic brat, today is the day you die!”

Ye Fan's brow furrowed.

He hadn't expected the cultivators from the Haoran Sect to track him down so quickly.

He swept his divine sense over the Break-Stage Grass, realizing that claiming it today would be incredibly difficult.

Just as he was about to risk everything to pluck the herb,

the entire space shook violently, and the mist surrounding them began to boil.

A thick, pungent stench of blood swept over the area.

In the air above, a middle-aged cultivator with a sinister countenance, clad in a blood-red Daoist robe, stepped out of the void.

It was Xue Wuya, the Sect Master of the Blood River Demon Sect, flanked by several elders and disciples.

Ye Fan felt a surge of hope. Do I still have a chance?

The Haoran Sect master's expression grew solemn as he stared at the suddenly arriving Xue Wuya. This demonic bastard was always a thorn in his side.

Blood-red light swirled around Xue Wuya as his chilling killing intent locked onto the Break-Stage Grass.

His eyes flickered. Without wasting any breath, he barked,

“Seize the Break-Stage Grass! Kill anyone who stands in your way!”

He had no intention of wasting words with these self-righteous hypocrites.

Since they would end up fighting anyway, it was better to skip the talking and get straight to the bloodshed.

In truth, it was because he always lost whenever they had a war of words.

It was always incredibly frustrating and infuriating...

The Haoran Sect master was caught off guard by Xue Wuya's lack of etiquette.

Usually, they would exchange a round of insults first, allowing him to curse Xue Wuya to high heaven.

He would thoroughly denounce the wicked deeds of the Blood River Demon Sect's disciples before the actual fighting began.

Instantly, the entire area erupted into a chaotic free-for-all, with spiritual energy surging and magical artifacts clashing in all directions.

Yet, everyone subconsciously steered clear of the Break-Stage Grass to avoid damaging it.

...

Meanwhile, after leaving the spirit stone mine, Lu Ming, Big Yellow, and Huang Tianbao began searching the secret realm for Fu Chen.

Along the way, they harvested quite a few spiritual herbs,

and naturally, they also ran into their fair share of bandits.

After all, many low-tier cultivators had suddenly gained Nascent Soul stage cultivation, which made them incredibly arrogant.

They all believed they could now challenge the veteran powerhouses.

More importantly, they assumed these old monsters carried a fortune in spirit stones and treasures.

Of course, they weren't entirely stupid; they still recognized the gap between themselves and the true experts.

Because of this, most of them operated in groups.

If one person couldn't win, they would bring two. If two weren't enough, they would bring three, five, or even a hundred...

If they could somehow kill a Unity-stage old monster,

the loot inside the storage bag would make them filthy rich for the rest of their lives. It was a risk well worth taking.

As a result, most of the groups Lu Ming and his companions encountered consisted of at least five people.

Some of the larger syndicates even had nearly a hundred members.

When they ran into groups they couldn't defeat, Lu Ming and his companions simply fled.

But when they encountered groups they could handle, they showed absolutely no mercy.

Lu Ming would first disarm them, confiscating all their weapons.

Then, he would treat them to a barrage of gold bricks. The men were killed, the women were killed, and those who were neither were killed even faster...