Translator: Myriea_ActiasLuna Editor: Nou
How could Hahn Longzi have known stopping this Snowy Mountain discipleâs carriage in a moment of moral indignation would end up causing the boy to form a grudge towards him? Despite being the one who suffered a loss earlier, Hahn Longzi now had his way blocked instead. This feeling was like reflexively kicking at a stray dog at the side of the road only to be bitten instead, and after simply going on about his day without paying it much more attention, the animal ended up coming to his door to try to bite him to death. It left him infuriated; since when had heâone of the top four elites of the western desertsâbeen pushed around like this?
If the Snowy Mountain disciple had entered the cauldron as well to fight over the opportunities using his battle prowess, it would have been fine, but it was precisely because Hahn Longzi had risked the deadly fumes to obtain these spoils from the other young elites that he didnât want to just hand it over like this. He ultimately didnât really have a choice, though; after experiencing such a messy battle inside the cauldron and using up so much Qi, he was concerned about the pellet fumes and did not dare to draw in a breath. The current internal state of his body had become rather muddled and he couldnât contend against Fang Xing at all.
âFellow Daoist Hahn Longzi, if you donât want to leave, why not open the path for us three sisters?â a soft and gentle voice rose up as the three fairies of the northern mountains arrived. The cauldronâs opening was too small to fit more than one person through at a time, and those behind Hahn Longzi couldnât get close while he was arguing with Fang Xing.
Although Hahn Longzi was thoroughly enraged and wanted to curse at first, he suddenly remembered those three fairies werenât small fries, either. It would not be easy for him if he offended them here and had to contend with the little demon ahead and them behind, so why not simply move aside? If they were able to force the brat to move out of the way, heâd be able to follow behind and try to escape. After considering this, he shifted his body three feet away from the cauldronâs entranceway, allowing the green-dressed woman to walk towards it instead.
âThis is such a great idea you have, little brother,â the green-dressed woman said towards Fang Xing with a smile. âSuch a clever way to easily obtain the cauldronâs resources. It is much easier than risking your life and going inside; I am feeling even more admiration and adoration towards you nowâŚ.â
âOh, donât say that! Iâm blushing already!â Fang Xing replied with a flushed face. âYou also want to come out?â
The green-dressed woman leading the three fairies gave a wholehearted smile. âYes, would you let us out?â Her voice was languid and comforting and her gaze was soft, making her appear even more astounding.
Fang Xingâs face flushed even more, as though he was becoming rather embarrassed and shy. â⌠NoâŚ.â
âNo?â the green-dressed woman echoed with surprise.
Although Fang Xing looked to be a shy boy, his words didnât show even a hint of that. âYeah, honesty is the most important part of business. Half of your gains and Iâll let you out, fair and square. Whether itâs a child or elder, man or woman, no one can come out without paying the price!â
This actually caused the green-dressed womanâs face to fallâthis little bastard hadnât been moved at all by what she said! All those gestures sheâd shown him had been fed to the strays and she inwardly wanted to curse out in anger, but she hesitantly showed an even sweeter smile and continued, âBut us three sisters were truly too weak and didnât get much for ourselves. How about this, little brother: Iâll give you three Foundation Cleansing Pellets and youâll let us out? You know, my little shimei Hong really likes you and Iâd originally wanted introduce you to her. Although our Wondrous Moon Dungeon of the northern mountains specializes in the art of gathering Yang, my little shimei Hong has never touched a man yet and her virginity still remainsâŚ.â
Fang Xing softly laughed with gleaming eyes, and it even looked like he was about to start drooling. âTsk tsk, using such a tempting methodâŚ.â Just as the green-dressed woman let out a sigh of relief in her mind and thought sheâd finally moved this little bastard, however, Fang Xing firmly shook his head. âBut I still canât allow it. I know youâve obtained a purple and gold gourd. There should be around sixteen Foundation Cleansing Pellets inside, and you also have two golden pellets; giving me just three Foundation Cleansing Pellets simply will not do. How about this: your shimei Hong can be counted as one Foundation Cleansing Pellet, and this way, rather than giving me⌠eight Foundation Cleansing Pellets and one golden pellet, Iâll give you a discount of one Foundation Cleansing Pellet less, meaning seven of those and one golden pellet total.â
The womanâs face turned as green as her dress. Her lips quivered in anger and she was completely unable to respond.
âShijie, what need is there to speak trash with him anymore? Letâs just go straight through him together!â the floral-dressed woman messaged in disapproval from behind the green-dressed woman.
âThis brat wasnât disadvantaged even by Li Ying,â the green-dressed woman answered back, âIf any of us were to face him alone, none of us would be his opponent at all. This place is so narrow and only one person can go through at a time, so who could stop him?â
âThen letâs use poison!â
âIâve already used three different invisible poisons on him, but he avoided all of them. His spirit sense is powerful and the poisons we use cannot hide from his senses at all if theyâre used head-onâŚ.â
Although sheâd been smiling and laughing with Fang Xing, in truth the green-dressed woman had already sent out several types of colorless and odorless poisons. They were extremely difficult to detect when blown along the wind, and yet Fang Xing had evaded it all with a smile as though it was nothing. This had left her alarmed, and she understood that although this boy might appear to be sly and improper, the power of his spirit sense was definitely not that of an ordinary cultivator.
It seemed as though they truly had no methods whatsoever when faced with such a brat and all three women started to grow anxious. As for Fang Xing, he proudly folded his arms and waited for them to admit defeat. With things as they were, the longer they waited, the more damage theyâd receive from the pellet fumes and the weaker their battle prowess would be once they did come out. He actually preferred if they wasted a bit more time; perhaps if they wasted a few more hours, theyâd all simply fall apart without him needing to do anything himself.
Just as the three women felt they had no other choice, a violent spirit sense swept over and shook their hearts. âWhat are all of you doing here? Waiting to die?â As the three fairies looked behind themselves, they saw Li Ying and Han Jiazi of the western deserts, whoâd finished their fight for the last golden pellet and were arriving at the cauldronâs exit. The three fairies were a little fearful of this Ghost Prince from the south and were concerned heâd strike at them for no reason at all, so they instantly moved to the side to clear a path and let him see Fang Xing blocking the way outside.
Before Li Ying moved in front of the fairies, Hahn Longziâs spirit sense quivered in rage and messaged out, âThat path-blocking Snowy Mountain disciple wants to rob us of our opportunities. He wonât allow us out if we donât give it to him!â
âWhat? How dare he!â Li Ying was instantly furious at such words, and his own spirit sense began to quiver as he dashed towards the cauldronâs exit. Ghost Qi spread out around him, making him look like a bloody dragon swimming through a river of blood towards the outside.
Fang Xing smiled at the sight of Li Ying. âOh? Youâre here to show off again, ghost kid?â he called out before pivoting the one-legged-man lance with all his Qi and swinging it out. âGo back, you!â
Li Ying roared out in anger and charged forward, but Fang Xingâs excessively powerful blow crashed against him and forced him to retreat a few steps back.
âWayaya, youâre taking advantage of my weakened state! If youâre so powerful, youâd let me out and fight with me to the death once all my Qi has recovered!â his spirit sense angrily vibrated as he snarled and growled with rage. When had he ever been in such a heavily disadvantaged situation like this?
âYou think Iâm stupid?â Fang Xing rested the one-legged-man lance against his shoulder before smiling. âTruthfully, Iâm the one who decides what happens to all of you today. Who forced you all to dig yourself inside like a bunch of mutts rubbing their faces in sh*t? Itâs easy to enter but hard to leave. Remember my words: no one comes out without first handing over half their gains. You want to fight to the death? Youâll still have to get out first!â
Fang Xingâs words rang out with such arrogance that all the young elites inside the cauldron seethed with anger. If they were to only compare battle prowess, Fang Xing truly might not be able to block all of the elites inside. Even when facing them one at a time, he would still have to put in quite some effort unless he used the Yin Yang Sanding Disc to try to wring them to death. They were all considered the top Foundation Stage elites of their respective four lands, after all, but being blocked off inside this cauldron had left them without any options. The battle inside the cauldron had already made them use up a great amount of their Qi, and adding in the fact theyâd been holding their breaths to avoid the pellet fumes, the flow of blood and Qi within their bodies had already started to reach their peakâthe amount of battle prowess they could display was extremely limited.
As time passed, Fang Xing leisurely waited outside the cauldron while those inside became so anxious beads of sweat began to form on their foreheads. When the red-dressed woman of the three fairiesâthe one who was youngest and had the lowest cultivation levelâlooked as though she couldnât hold out any longer, the green-dressed woman clenched her teeth and declared, âEnough. My shimei canât endure it much longer. You all do what you want, weâre going to leave. Itâs only half the gains, weâll just give it to himâŚ.â Sheâd noticed that although the three of them were excellent in using poisons, their cultivation level and foundations were much lower than the others, her little shimeiâs in particular. Her little shimei had nearly reached the end and the pellet fumes were about to start corroding her. If they waited until after they lost her, those around them might even take the opportunity to lay their hands on her and her other sister as well, so she took out the golden pellet and prepared to hand it over.
âWait!â Hahn Longzi suddenly messaged over at that precise moment, his eyes twinkling with a cold shine. âItâs inevitable this little demon of the Snowy Mountains will rob us since we canât get out without handing it over. How about we form an alliance for now and do as he says? Weâll hand over half the gains to escape, but once weâre out, weâll kill him together? Hmph, you should have noticed as well that the brat got plenty of stuff from the Spirit Stage opportunity thanks to the Spirit Stage cultivators who accepted his protection. After we kill him, everything he stole from us will be returned to their original owners and weâll evenly split all the spirit herbs and plants. What do you all say?â
The floral-dressed woman instantly replied, âThat is the only method now. Weâve used up too much Qi inside the cauldron, and none of us will really have an edge over that brat if we try to fight one-on-one before recovering. Our individual battle prowess is halved, but weâll still have enough power to kill him if we form an allianceâŚ.â
After a few exchanges, they determined this was the only option they had and all agreed. âYou want to take our opportunities as well? Fine, weâll give it to you!â