Translator: Myriea_ActiasLuna Editor: Nou
The embroidered-gown youth twisted his brows into a knot. It went without saying that heâd wanted to vent his anger by killing all of these people once the red-dressed girl was freed, but Fang Xingâs idea had now made it completely impossible for him to do so. He and the other two in tier nine made up a bulk of their sideâs power, after all; if they were unable to fight, the rest wouldnât have much of a fighting chance.
Furthermore, Fang Xing wasnât trying to suppress all of their battle prowess completely and had allowed the Myriad Beasts Sect just enough power to defend themselves if necessary, leaving them very little room to argue against these terms. No matter how reluctant they were, the strongest people would definitely have to take poison pellets.
âHehe, if you donât agree, I will be left with no other choice but to ask you to be a guest at our Qing-Yun Sect!â Fang Xing smiled, grabbing ahold of the girlâs hair before kissing her on the cheek with a loud smooching sound.
Despite the embroidered-gown youthâs anger, he remained silent before releasing a long sigh. âFine! As you please!â The fact his little shimei had fallen into the hands of his opponent meant his life and death was in someone elseâs hands. Although the boy might appear young, he was surely someone difficult to deal with, and the youth had no other choice but to accept the boyâs plan.
Seeing this, Xu Linyun immediately commanded the Danxia disciples to start up their cauldrons, while she personally prepared the ingredients and inspected the poison pellets while they were finishing up. By the time an hour passed, five had been completed.
Although they were categorized as âpoison pelletsâ, they actually didnât do anything just from being eaten; the poison would only be released and cause death if the person whoâd taken it used Qi within the next three days. Every alchemist was also a master in the usage of poison to some degree, and crafting a pellet like this was not hard for Xu Linyun.
There were some Myriad Beasts disciples who also knew a thing or two about pellets, and after they made a few inspections to ensure these pellets were legitimately what Fang Xing claimed they were, they looked at each other and decided upon the five recipients. As per Fang Xingâs requirements, the three disciples in the ninth tier were picked, while two other disciples from the eighth tier received a pellet as well.
Once the chosen disciples had taken their pellet, they all flew back a thousand feet on their bats, not daring to remain any closer. None of them dared to start a fight right now, and it was now their turn to fear whether or not the Qing-Yun disciples would get any ideas.
Fang Xing watched all of this with a cold gaze, and only once everything had finished without a problem did he show relief. He then lightly tapped the red-dressed girlâs face and laughed, âOff you go, girl. If you donât hurry and cover that little face of yours with medicine, that X might stay on it for good!â As he spoke, he pushed her away and grinned, not worried at all that she might retaliate.
The girl was still in a state of confusion, and it took her a while to finally realize sheâd been released. When she looked down, she saw Xiongnuâs headless corpse and suddenly turned around with sorrow and mourning in her eyes.
âIâm going to kill you!â An astonishing amount of Qi rushed out from the girl in that moment, and this Qi actually turned into a single-horned Jiaolong dragon. Its body turned and twisted ferociously in the air as it headed straight towards Fang Xing without fear.
The attack caught the Qing-Yun disciples by surprise. The majority of them quickly retreated, while the Duanzhen disciples called out in unison and began to activate a large variety of spirit weapons. Xu Linyun also held her sword as a precaution, but she didnât actually make any movementsâsheâd noticed Fang Xing was extremely calm.
Sure enough, once the single-horned Jiaolong had reached in front of him, Fang Xing suddenly extended his fingers, grabbed ahold of the [Saber of Azure Dragon], and quickly pivoted his body. The saberâs Malice was stimulated to its peak andâwith a single cleaveâthe energy formed into a lifelike azure dragon that dispersed the illusory Jiaolong. The saber then drew right above the girlâs head, prepared to deliver the final strike.
âStopâŠ!â the Myriad Beasts disciples screamed out in surprise. But no matter how they might try to help, it was already too late.
The saber drew down towards the girlâs head before halting less than half an inch away. Since the pause was so sudden and the swing was so powerful, the blade hummed out without end.
âHow can you show off such low level of ability in front of so many people? You should go home and get a few more years of practice!â Fang Xing derided the girl before suddenly flourishing his saber, sending the girl flying away with the impact.
The Myriad Beasts disciples ran towards the red-dressed girl and immediately checked her once theyâd caught her. Although the weaponâs movement had been filled with power, there hadnât actually been any Qi used alongside it; the boy had only smacked the girl flying and hadnât wounded her by much.
âLittle Shimei, letâs leave. Weâve completely lost todayâŠâ one of the people sitting atop a black bat tried to persuade the dazed girl.
âThe road of cultivation is long. Weâll come back and avenge ourselves another time!â another person added with obvious anger.
By the time the girl slowly came back to her senses, the black bat was already in the sky. She suddenly turned towards Fang Xing and coldly asked, âWhat is your name?â
âWhat? You want to take revenge? Remember thisâŠâ Fang Xing laughed and replied loud and proud. âMy name is Yu Sanliang from the Qing-Yun Sect!â
Such a proclamation caused the Qing-Yun disciples to nearly fall over from shock.
As the red-dressed girl gazed at the more and more distant Fang Xing on the ground, she muttered to herself, âYu SanliangâŠ. Iâll remember you!â
Once all of the Myriad Beasts disciples had departed, Xu Linyun turned and smiled towards Fang Xing. âShidi Fang, this was all thanks to you!â
Fang Xing brushed it off with a laugh. âVery small things, no need to be so polite!â
âHmph, taking a little girl as ransom isnât exactly the act of a hero, is it?â a voice filled with hatred rose up from the disdainful Feng Qingwei. However, as soon as sheâd finished speaking, she noticed how all of the people around her showed her looks of astonishment, and even Xiao Jianming merely glanced at her coldly. Growing anxious, she added, âWas there anything wrong with what I just said?â
No one replied to her. The Qing-Yun disciples looked towards Fang Xing andâa short moment laterâsomeone took the lead by cupping their hands towards Fang Xing in a show of appreciation and thanks. When those around him saw that, quite a few followed suit to cup their hands and silently bow as well. Although no one spoke, their gratitude was clearly sincere.
Of course, there were still some people who remained stubborn even now and were unwilling to lower their heads to Fang Xing.
Towards those who showed appreciation, Fang Xing returned their bows, and even though the position of his cupped hands and bow was shoddy, he was still being polite all the same. However, he quickly turned towards Wu Xiangtong and said, âHelp me remember those who bowed and return their storage sacks to them. As for those who didnât, donât bother with them!â
Wu Xiangtong agreed with a smile. The remaining Qing-Yun disciples were left startled and began to bow as well.
Wu Xiangtong then began to sort and hand back the storage sacks that had belonged to the Qing-Yun disciples. As for the sacks taken from the Myriad Beasts Sect, although it was easy to tell there could be quite a few valuables inside, no one dared to touch them without permission and they were all piled in front of Fang Xing to await his judgment. Fang Xing was rather generous in this matter and simply waved his little hands. âInto Duanzhenâs collective account!â
Overjoyed, Wu Xiangtong delivered a deep bow while thinking about how everything had indeed become easy with Little Shixiong Fang around. He had originally felt somewhat unwilling when his esteemed shifu told him Fang Xing would be the lead disciple, but it now seemed that his shifu had been wise and with great foresight.
Fang Xing then thought for some time before quickly looking towards Xu Linyun. âDanxia Valley has done their share as well. They can have five⊠no, wait, four sacks!â
Wu Xiangtong remained smiling. âOf course!â Then, with polite movements utilizing both of his hands, he handed four of the storage sacks to Xu Linyun. Xu Linyun herself treated the matter straightforwardly, accepting the sacks before passing them immediately on to the Danxia disciples to sort amongst themselves.
The female disciples were suddenly so happy it was as though they were blossoming with joy. They quickly opened up the sacks, and when they saw a great number of glittering Spirit Stones with all sorts of spirit medicines and tools, they all beamed with smiles. In their minds, Little Shixiong Fang was such a great person, no doubt about that. âNot only is he handsome, but also generous as well! That blunt mouth of his is a bit of a problem⊠but heâs still such a cutie!â
Xiao Jianming had already made his way to the other side of the altar and gazed upwards, as if studying the altarâs shape. While a portion of the disciples were cheering, Feng Qingwei followed after him while clutching at her own sleeves and mumbling, âShixiong Xiao, IâŠ.â That cold glance heâd given her earlier had frightened her, and she felt as though sheâd done something terribly wrong.
Xiao Jianming did not respond immediately. Just when Feng Qingweiâs fear began to reach its peak, he suddenly released a long sigh. âIf that little devil grows up, what would become of me?â he quietly muttered to himself. The sound was soft and calm, yet contained within was bone-chilling intent.
Feng Qingwei was stunned and quickly responded, âShixiong Xiao, do you meanââ
Xiao Jianming turned around and calmly spoke, âSay nothing more. Go and check the landscape, and we will repair the seal. We will then return after!â
When Feng Qingwei saw Xiao Jianmingâs calm expression, a chill traveled down her spine. She quickly moved to follow his orders by commanding the Shanhe disciples to investigate the surrounding landscape.
For a reason Feng Qingwei couldnât decipher, she had felt in that moment that Xiao Jianming was an extremely terrifying person.
At the same time, there was a being inside the altar the disciples could not sense, who gave an extremely satisfied laugh the disciples could not hear. âVery good. Not bad at allâŠ.â
Just as Fang Xing was sorting through all of the items inside the Myriad Beasts sacks, he suddenly looked up to survey his surroundings, his eyes filled with confusion.
Wu Xiangtong was next to him, and when he saw Fang Xingâs strange actions, he quickly asked, âWhatâs wrong?â
Fang Xing just waved it off while thinking to himself, âWho the hell was laughing like a dirty old man just now?â