Ye Tianfan hadn't been here for long when the sky quickly darkened.

Black clouds descended heavily toward the ground, as if the sky was collapsing, with occasional flashes of lightning darting through the clouds.

In this desolate wilderness, with no village in front and no shop behind, Ye Tianfan saw only a small winding path stretching out from the distance.

While Ye Tianfan hesitated about which way to go, a low rumble of thunder echoed in the sky, accompanied by sporadic raindrops.

"Looks like it's going to rain. Just a moment ago, the sun was scorching, and now it's about to rain soon. Judging by these clouds, it's likely to be a downpour," Ye Tianfan said, glancing up at the clouds and feeling the raindrops on his face.

Ye Tianfan quickly descended to the ground. With a storm like this, he couldn't stay flying. Rain alone would be tolerable, but having heard the thunder earlier, there was no way he could stay in the sky during such weather.

Just minutes after landing, a torrential rain began pouring down. Helplessly, Ye Tianfan had to summon the Xuanhuang Tower to shield himself from the rain.

Being just at the entrance of the Ancient Wilderness, with no village or shop nearby, he had to use the magical treasure to avoid getting soaked.

Wait a minute, magical treasure?

Ye Tianfan suddenly scolded himself for being foolish and immediately took to the sky again, planning to find a town to seek shelter and rest.

One might wonder why Ye Tianfan called himself a fool. After all, with a magical treasure like the Xuanhuang Tower, why worry about being struck by lightning?

The Xuanhuang Tower is a Supreme Magical Treasure, after all—there's no way it could be afraid...

"Boom!" "Bang!" "Crack!"

Just as Ye Tianfan was thinking about how stupid he was, a bolt of lightning struck down at him. Although the Xuanhuang Tower blocked it, it emitted a tremendous sound and even dimmed slightly.

Ye Tianfan was blasted down, and if it weren't for the Xuanhuang Tower, the lightning would have crushed him into pulp upon hitting the ground.

"Cough, cough~" Ye Tianfan coughed a few times and then stood up. He found himself in a deep pit, having created it from the impact—evidence of the lightning's formidable power.

"Good heavens, how can it be so powerful? The natural lightning almost overwhelmed me!" Ye Tianfan exclaimed, disbelief in his voice as he watched the lightning flickering within the clouds.

"Of course, you're probably a newbie cultivator, right? The natural lightning contains certain rules. It's not just about high cultivation levels—unless you're at the Taichu level, only then can you be immune to these natural lightning rules," said a voice near the pit where Ye Tianfan was standing.

"Who's there?" Ye Tianfan immediately went on guard when he heard the voice, then jumped out of the pit to face the speaker.

The person was dressed in hemp clothing and had several hemp pouches tied around his waist.

The person looked young, yet Ye Tianfan sensed the aura of a cultivator emanating from him. Judging from his expression, he was uncertain whether the stranger was friend or foe, thus stayed cautious.

"Who are you, and what brings you here?" Ye Tianfan had quietly summoned the Fire Lotus Sword; ready to strike the stranger at high speed if needed.

"Why am I here? I should be asking you that!" replied the stranger, somewhat exasperated. "This is our Gu Sect's cultivation ground—we all train here. Who do you think we are? Besides, this is our Gu Sect's territory and yet you ask who I am before introducing yourself!"

"Gu Sect?" Upon hearing 'Gu Sect,' Ye Tianfan was initially puzzled, but swiftly became more vigilant. From his readings, he'd learned that the Gu Sect could be either righteous or evil, essentially a neutral third power, acting solely on its whims.

Technically, their manner could be considered demonic, yet the sect also had benevolent members who aided villagers and eradicated demon beasts. They've even set up arrays outside more than half of the towns and villages in the Ancient Wilderness, targeting only demon beasts and not people.

However, there were those who showed disdain toward ordinary people, eliminating them with poisonous magic at the slightest offense.

Therefore, Ye Tianfan couldn't ascertain whether the person before him was good or evil.

Ye Tianfan hadn't expected to find himself wandering into Gu Sect territory, nor that it would be this vast, as he had only recently flown in from the edges of the Ancient Wilderness.

"I didn't realize this was your Gu Sect's training ground. My apologies for the disturbance. I am Ye Tianfan, a disciple from Taichu Sect's Taifeng Peak. May I ask your name, brother?"

Ye Tianfan introduced himself and apologized, making sure to mention his Taichu Sect affiliation.

Even though Ye Tianfan disliked relying on his sect's reputation, he had little choice in the matter, especially since poison from Gu insects was unpredictable, and he couldn't possibly stay under the Xuanhuang Tower's protection all day and night.

"Ah, a disciple from the Taichu Sect! I am Wu Kong from Leg Hall of the Gu Sect," responded the man calmly, unimpressed by the mention of Taichu Sect, neither excited nor altering his expression.

"Leg Hall?" Ye Tianfan had read about the Gu Sect's four branches: Wing Hall, Leg Hall, Toad Hall, and Snake Hall.

Wing Hall focuses on winged insects like butterflies, bees, mantises, and ladybugs.

Leg Hall specializes in many-legged insects such as centipedes, scorpions, spiders, ants, and non-flying arthropods.

Toad Hall focuses on frogs and toads—a category of poisonous creatures.

Snake Hall specializes in various poisonous snakes.

The Gu Sect members are generally not to be trifled with, especially those from Snake and Toad Halls, who are quick to resort to violence.

Wing Hall's actions are more conspicuous, while the Leg Hall's methodologies are discreet, with their poisonous insects sometimes killing invisibly, leaving victims unaware of how they were poisoned.

Today, however, Ye Tianfan confronted the most troublesome branch—a disciple from Leg Hall.

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