Translator: Myriea_ActiasLuna Editor: Nou
âThat brat must have used teleportation spirit toolsâŠ.â
All of the people surrounding the Thousand Cliff were Foundation Stage cultivators, and they quickly realized what had happened. With a loud howl, Xiao Shanhe immediately flew into the air and poured as much Qi as he could into activating his Mystic Eye. As he swept out his gaze, he soon noticed a ripple appear above a deserted forest west of the Qing-Yun Sect, followed by the sudden appearance of a small child yelling as he fell.
Within the tall trees near where the boy was falling, a giant golden crow flew out to immediately catch him and fly away with extraordinary speed.
Xiao Shanhe watched with anger before quickly rushing over on his cloud. âTrying to escape, brat?â As for the other elders, they were more concerned about the explosive sounds from earlier and did not chase after Xiao Shanhe, instead flying in the direction of their own valleys.
Sect Master Chen Xuanhua looked towards where Fang Xing had fled before letting out a long sigh and casting a spell to pull over a dark cloud to extinguish the fires with its rainfall. The fires in the Danxia and Shanhe Valleys had already spread into the nearby forests by now; if it wasnât stopped now, it was likely the entire Qing-Yun Sect would be burned to ashes.
Everyone from the Qing-Yun Sect rushed about in all directions to try to salvage their belongings and prevent the fire from spreading further. Among these people, a plump-bodied Yu Sanliang stood under a pine tree while looking towards where Fang Xing had just fled, his expression twisted as though trying to smile and cry at the same time. Somehow, he still remembered when a beggar-looking Fang Xing had leapt up and was yelling at him:
âHow dare you kick me! You freakish fat pig with pus running out of your smelly feet and hemorrhoids probably growing out of that stupid thing of yours you call a head! Oh, and your face is like a cowâs! How dare you call me worthless! You should be thankful that Iâm even considering joining your sect! You will regret this; youâve failed to recognize someone of such great importance, and when I come back to burn your pitiful monastery downâŠ.â
That had been the first impression Fang Xing had left on him. How could he have imagined back then that this boy would actually go and do it? That heâd not only kill Xiao Jianming, but burn the Qing-Yun Sect as well?
Just as Xiao Shanhe chased off towards Fang Xingâs direction, Elder Qinânyao flew anxiously towards the top of her Danxia Valley. She couldnât help but to feel a sense of panic as she looked down at the mess below, and she hastily rushed towards her own cave estate, only for her heart to sink when she arrived. The door to her estate was wide open, and the interior was a complete mess with shelves and tables scattered all over the floor, as though sheâd just been robbedâŠ.
Qinânyao immediately went to the deeper end of the cave, where there was a hidden stone room storing the numerous treasures and resources sheâd saved over the years. It could be said this room contained every valuable thing she owned, yet now the door was left wide open; when Qinânyao stepped in front of it to look inside, her entire body went as rigid as if sheâd been struck by lightning and her eyes turned bright red in anger.
All of those rare pellets and herbs sheâd saved over the years, all those precious spirit tools and weapons sheâd had, none if it had been left behind!
Cultivation resources and technique manuals were essential to a cultivator. Sheâd recently been given an Ancient technique manual that would allow her to enter the Golden Core Stage, yet she hadnât even been allowed half a day of excitement before finding all of her life savings completely gone.
âWho was it? That brat was inside the Thousand Cliff the entire time; who did this?â Elder Qinânyao hatefully yelled towards the sky before chasing off in the same direction as Xiao Shanhe.
At the same time Elder Qinânyao rose up into the air, another angry howl could be heard from the direction of Shuwen Valley, âWhy was I ransacked too?!â
Elsewhere, Fang Xing had activated the Ten Mile Teleportation Talisman to teleport above the forest on the sectâs western side just as heâd agreed with the golden crow. The crow came rushing over to catch him before heâd fallen to the ground below, and the two immediately began to flee. Seeing how excited the crow was, Fang Xing immediately knew everything had gone according to plan, so he sat down on the crowâs back with a smile. âHow was the harvest?â
The golden crow laughed. âWeâve gained a huge profit! I didnât expect the elders of such a small sect to be so rich! Danxia Valley and Shanhe Valley were both emptied and I set off five Exploding Flame Talismans for each. Oh, and on my way past Shuwen Valley, I felt it would be too much of a pity to let it go, so I also emptied them as well while I was at it. As for Duanzhen ValleyâŠ.â
âYou didnât touch Duanzhen Valley, right?â Fang Xing curiously asked.
The golden crow grinned. âFor you, I didnât touch them!â
Fang Xing sighed. âYou know, even if you did, it wouldnât be that big of a dealâŠ.â
This time, it was the golden crowâs turn to be speechless. To think this brat wouldnât care even if his own shifuâs treasures were takenâŠ.
As it so happened, just as the pair were returning from the Yunyin Summit, Fang Xing had noticed that the Meat-Wine Monk taking away the two peaks had broken the protective formation over the Qing-Yun Sect. Put simply, before the formation was repaired again, the entire Qing-Yun Sect was like a treasure vault without any locks. With that knowledge coupled with his hatred towards Qinânyao and Xiao Shanhe, heâd developed a plan to ensure he wasnât forgotten.
With his mind made up, heâd decided to not have the golden crow join him inside the Thousand Cliff, and instead had given all ten of his Exploding Flame Talismans to the crow before leaving to face Xiao Jianming alone. The golden crow was then supposed to use this heaven-sent opportunity to rob all the savings of the Danxia and Shanhe Valleys, then blow up their valleys while he was at it.
The crow had been overjoyed to hear of such a plan and had immediately gone to carry it out. Doing such things was like taking a casual stroll in the park for him, and the disappearance of the Qing-Yun Sectâs main protective formation made things even easier. Without the main protective formation, all of the individual formations within the valleys had lost their foundation and become as ineffective as wide-open doors!
Since it was so easy, not only did the crow sneak into the Danxia and Shanhe Valleys, empty Qinânyao and Xiao Shanheâs life savings, and place the Exploding Flame Talismans, he even went and looted Shuwen Valley as well. Once he was finished, he waited for Fang Xing at the agreed-upon location while observing what was happening in the tournament, and once he saw things start to grow chaotic, he ignited all of the Exploding Flame Talismans at once.
In the end, their plan had been a great success and theyâd completed their largest heist ever. Of course, Shuwen Valleyâs Chen Baoyan felt rather aggrieved by all this; Qinânyao and Xiao Shanhe were one thing, but what did he do to deserve this?
âOh? That old guyâs catching upâŠâ the golden crow told Fang Xing with a grin. He could feel a murderous cloud coming up close from behind.
Fang Xing laughed. âLet him come a bit closer!â
The golden crow was rather surprised to hear this. âWhy?â
Fang Xing cleared his throat. âI canât defeat him, but Iâm still going to curse at him!â
A cloud flew closer behind them at an extreme speed as Xiao Shanheâs furious voice rang out loud and clear, âNnnngh, you little livestock, Iâll grind your bones into ash!â
Standing up on the golden crowâs back, Fang Xing put his hands on his waist, drew in a deep breath, and yelled out, âGrind your uncle, you Xiao of an old livestock! You think you can catch up to your grandpa? Just try it, come at me! Youâre so sad, that little Xiao bastard mustâve been your son you secretly had with your sister-in-law, right? And now youâre unhappy that your son is dead? Well, Iâm going to exterminate your entire Xiao clan one dayâŠ.â
âIâm going to kill you!â Xiao Shanhe yelled out with rage.
âKill your uncle! You old bastard, your face is so misshapen itâs impossible to even tell where your nose or eyes are. Your ancestorsâ graves must have been pissed on by dogs for something as ugly as you to be born, huh? So poor and pitiful, yet you still want to practice cultivation? Go cultivate your uncle! Oh, why is your face so green? Is that because of me?
â⊠Sh*t, how dare you send sword force at me! Watch me piss all over your faceâŠ.â Just as Fang Xing had been enthusiastically cursing, Xiao Shanheâs sword force had nearly taken him by surprise and Fang Xingâdespite being more than a thousand feet awayâwas nearly hit. Annoyed, Fang Xing dropped his pants and began to splatter urine into the airâŠ.
The splatter was huge, and the wind caused it to fly directly towards Xiao Shanheâs face. Xiao Shanhe didnât feel any danger, and he was flying as fast as he could while blinded by anger; he wasnât paying much attention, and he ended up diving straight into it. Xiao Shanhe thought it was poison at first, but he soon realized there was a salty taste to it and recognized what it was. By then, he was so angry he could nearly spit out blood. âArgh! You little livestock, this is unforgivable!â
Even as Xiao Shanhe yelled and cursed, Fang Xing loudly laughed while the golden crow increased his speed to the peak to flee for good. Although Xiao Shanhe was a Foundation Stage cultivator, the distance between him and Fang Xing began to grow larger and larger, until he lost sight of Fang Xing completely. The anger he felt was difficult to put into words; it was as though his entire being was about to erupt, and the only thing he could do was yell like a madman in the middle of the sky.
âElder Xiao, where did that brat go?â After around the time of a burn of an incense, Elder Qinânyao on her cloud caught up with Xiao Shanhe. Behind her was the most unfortunate and innocent of them all: Shuwen Valleyâs chief elder, who could only shed dry tears.
Xiao Shanheâs face was cold and his voice was nearly shaking. âThat little bratâs mount is too difficult to deal with; itâs too good at running awayâŠ.â
âSeems like the brat had it all prepared in advance,â Elder Qinânyao replied in hatred. âWhile we were watching the match at the Thousand Cliff, his accomplice⊠maybe that ugly crow of his⊠entered our valleys and robbed everything from my Danxia Valley, your Shanhe Valley, and Shixiong Chenâs Shuwen Valley. They even blew up our valleysâŠ. Danxia and Shanhe donât even exist anymoreâŠ.â
âWhat?â Despite the numb sorrow Xiao Shanhe felt after losing his nephew, he was still shocked to hear such a thing. The most important thing to a cultivator was resources, and if all of a personâs resources were takenâand those that couldnât be taken, destroyedâwouldnât that mean all his years of effort had been reduced to nothing but a single Ancient technique?
âItâs true. I already took a look, Elder Xiao, and your Shanhe Valley⊠nothing was left,â Chen Baoyan answered with a bitter smile, his expression even worse than if heâd been crying. Before this had happened, he would never have believed a Spirit Stage child would dare to rob three Foundation Stage cultivators.
âGoddamned little devilâŠ. Whether in the heavens and earth or in the netherworld below, this will not end until I kill you!â Xiao Shanhe madly screamed, his voice echoing off into the sky in all directions.
Elder Qinânyaoâs expression was also gloomy, but she suddenly suggested, âAlthough the boy managed to run away so quickly, we do still have a way to suppress him!â
âNn?â Xiao Shanheâs bloodshot eyes instantly looked to her. âWhat is your idea? Tell me!â
Qinânyao revealed a cold smile. âDid Elder Xiao forget about the soul lantern each inner court disciple leaves behind when they enter?â