Chapter 300

Translator: Myriea_ActiasLuna Editor: Nou

Battles broke out one after another as more and more gourds were discovered within the cauldron, but these were no longer so simple as the first few had been. Combat led directly into more combat, and even the western deserts’ two young top elites, the three fairies of the northern mountains, and the Ghost Kingdom’s prince Li Ying all became embroiled in it. The cauldron was quickly turned into a harsh battlefield filled with all kinds of spells and attacks, and since nobody dared to let go of their breaths, all the messages had to be sent through spirit sense which only made the situation even more chaotic.

“There’s another cauldron over there…” someone sent out with unintended volume. They’d originally intended to send it to their companion, but the chaos in the area had caused it to miss its target and everyone ended up hearing it instead. The fierceness of the combat had ended up dispersing some of the pellet fumes, and a cauldron—this one small and delicate—was revealed at the giant cauldron’s center. A centerpiece like this was clearly the most precious treasure of this entire opportunity, and after a brief period of calm, everyone flew into an even greater frenzy to rush towards that cauldron while utilizing all manner of spells to stop others from doing the same.

In the end, the small cauldron toppled over with a loud clang , causing a few round golden pellets to roll out onto the ground and disappear into the thick fumes.

Li Ying’s body shook as he spread out his spirit sense and formed spectral hands from the blood essence around him. He swept his hands all across the ground while messaging out, “Whoever wants to claim the opportunity ahead will be handing over their life!”

Li Ying was an excessively greedy person and it was only natural he wished to claim these most precious pellets all for himself, but the fumes were suddenly kicked up as a long lance thrust out towards Li Ying with a sharp tzin sound. The lance was covered in such a terrifyingly large amount of Qi and its movements were so unpredictable even Li Ying had no choice but to dodge. He let out a loud growl, his ghostly eyes peering through the thick fumes until he saw who it was: the young master of the Han clan—Han Jiazi—who’d returned to fight over the pellets without saying a word.

“How dare you attack me! You’re seeking death!” Li Ying messaged over in anger while sending out his spectral hands to grab at him.

Han Jiazi’s gaze was cold and stern, and he shook his lance before swiping it inward towards himself without responding. His hand swam forward like a dragon in the ocean as it headed towards the golden pellets on the ground, and Li Ying—anxious Han Jiazi might actually get them—stopped focusing on him and instead flew over to try to grab the pellets for himself.

“Stand aside, idlers; this pellet is going to be mine!” someone else messaged out, leaving the surrounding cultivators shocked—Hahn Longzi and his blue sword had joined the battle as well.

“Since such a treasure exists, how could us sisters be absent?” The three fairies of the northern mountains also flew over while giggling. With their long-sleeved dances and the pink mist floating around them, these three also joined in.

All the other cultivators grew timid at the sight and no one else dared to join in; they could only watch with regret from the side.

Li Ying howled with violent fury and ruthlessly sent out his spectral hand to try to finish off one or two people at once and reduce the competition. Although his battle prowess was high, however, each competitor was a young elite from the four lands; they definitely weren’t pushovers, and removing even one was easier said than done.

The mute-like Han Jiazi sitting atop his Dragon Horse with that dragon-like lance was particularly vicious. Not only was Li Ying unable to kill him off, that lance nearly wounded Li Ying several times already and continuously forced him to use his full power to contend against it. The three fairies were able to cooperate seamlessly together and had spread poison all around themselves, making them difficult targets as well while they were working in tandem. As for the other young elite of the western deserts—Hahn Longzi—although he seemed to be the weakest of them all, he was extremely clever and avoided direct confrontations with Li Ying.

Li Ying wasn’t able to kill anyone at the moment, and it even seemed that Li Ying’s viciousness had provoked enough hostility from the others for them to band together and fight against him alone. Under such a circumstance, Li Ying wasn’t able to suppress them at all and could only barely keep up by pouring forth all of his effort.

While these cultivators battled it out, the two beast spirits controlled by Fang Xing remained hidden while projecting the scene to Fang Xing’s eyes. “Hmph, what a chaotic mess. It’s a good thing I was clever enough to avoid joining you in this muddy pool….” In order to take advantage of the situation, it was necessary to have truly overwhelming power capable of suppressing everyone else. Fang Xing was satisfied with his decision to remain behind; even if someone had a greater battle prowess than everyone else, if the difference wasn’t overwhelmingly large, they’d simply be pulled into the bog without a chance to leave.

Amidst the chaos inside the cauldron, Fang Xing had actually been extremely busy trying to count and memorize everything all the cultivators had obtained. “One, two, three, four…. Dammit, that fairy’s pair of big white legs keeps distracting me! Let’s count again; one, two, three, four….”

‘Oh no, I’ve been inside these fumes for too long. I can’t hold it any longer….’

Not only had the cauldron’s interior seemed to run out of treasure to snatch up, but those who’d been holding their breaths were beginning to near their limits as well. Those with weaker battle prowess and cultivation level or those who had a weaker method of fending off the fumes had already reached a point they couldn’t stand it any longer, and since it was unwise to lose their life over an opportunity like this one, they began to hastily rush towards the door.

Leaving the cauldron was effectively the same as giving up on the fight for the opportunity within, so it was only natural no one would stop those who wished to leave. The cultivator arrived smoothly at the cauldron’s door, but just as he was about to rush out, he noticed a huge formation set up right in front of the entranceway, while the little demon from the Snowy Mountain beamed at him from outside. The cultivator did not dare to rashly enter the formation and instead used spirit sense to ask, “What is this for, fellow Daoist?”

Fang Xing just sneered. “Enough talking; whether you managed to grab pellets or crumbs, I’ll be taking half!”

The cultivator was instantly dumbstruck. “Half?”

“Indeed! At least half!” Fang Xing declared with a laugh. “You can consider it the price to leave the cauldron!”

“Leaving the cauldron requires payment?” the cultivator yelled out with spirit sense, so angry and anxious he’d nearly let out his breath. Fang Xing, by comparison, was far more calm and slowly responded, “That’s right. If you don’t want to pay, just stay inside!”

While the first cultivator looked on in amazement at this little bandit asking for such a toll, footsteps rose up from behind him as other cultivators arrived. They couldn’t hold their breaths any longer and hurried towards the door, only to find their path blocked off by the cultivator who’d arrived first. The opening was so narrow they didn’t even notice Fang Xing just outside the entranceway.”What’s wrong? What’s wrong? Hurry and go; I’m almost out as well!”

“Can’t… can’t get out. Someone’s blocked off the outside and won’t let us go without payment…” the first cultivator helplessly messaged to those behind him.

“What? Blocking the entrance and demanding things? Who has such guts? Let’s kill him!” the cultivator behind him furiously declared.

The first cultivator helplessly replied, “It’s the Snowy Mountain disciple Fang Xiaojiu. How about I move aside and you go kill him?”

“F*ck, that brat didn’t see what I look like, right?” the second cultivator muttered to himself without daring to send another message again.

The first cultivator grew more and more anxious as he held his breath inside. He truly couldn’t hold it in much longer, and if he inhaled any of these pellet fumes, his blood would start to flow in reverse and he’d die. This was something he didn’t dare to risk, and although it was aggravating for him, he knew how vicious and difficult this Fang Xiaojiu was to deal with and knew he wasn’t someone he could dare provoke. All he could do was mournfully beg, “Please, fellow Daoist, my abilities are limited. I have not gained anything inside, so please let me out first….” Since he didn’t dare to fight him, he lied and hoped he’d be let free before anything else.

Fang Xing simply laughed. “How dare you lie to me, you bastard? A purple and gold gourd tipped over and scattered all the pellets during the chaos, and I clearly saw you pick up two to tuck in your pocket. You dare speak such nonsense in front of me? Hurry and give me one. If you dare say any more, I’ll make sure I have both of them and leave you nothing at all.”

The cultivator’s expression turned ashen; he hadn’t expected this brat to know everything that had happened within despite staying outside. Although doing so felt as though he was cutting his heart with a sharp blade, the cultivator had no choice but to clench his teeth and toss out a red pellet.

Fang Xing accepted it with a laugh before opening a small hole in his formation. “Now get lost!”

The cultivator hastily rushed out of the cauldron and began to take large breaths of air while beads of sweat covered his forehead. Of course, he didn’t forget to glare back at this little monster with hatred. Everyone else had gone inside to fight for this opportunity, yet this brat had stayed behind and blocked the only entrance to gain a profit for himself—that was simply too disgraceful! Those inside the cauldron had been fending off the pellet fumes, which meant their lives would be in danger if they delayed too much and weren’t careful. It was as though they were snakes and he’d grasped them at just the right spot to keep them from fighting back.

The second cultivator was full of smiles as he came to the cauldron door with cupped hands. “Fellow Daoist, I—”

“You’ve got three Foundation Cleansing Pellets. Give me two, or else don’t even think about coming out!” Fang Xing abruptly interrupted with a yell.

The cultivator was taken aback by this and bitterly replied, “Isn’t it supposed to be half?”

“You think I didn’t hear when you cursed me, your grandpa?”

Although he was struck speechless by such a response, the cultivator still cooperated and handed over two Foundation Cleansing Pellets for the sake of his life. With that, he was also allowed to leave the cauldron.

“What… what’s happening?” When the third cultivator arrived at the door and saw Fang Xing with his legs crossed in the air, he was also surprised.

Fang Xing studied him carefully only to crease his brows and impatiently wave his hand. “Stop asking. You idiot, you didn’t even get one pellet; hurry and get lost, don’t get in the way of my business!”