Translator: Myriea_ActiasLuna Editor: Nou
Rather than entering the encirclement of Golden Cores at the Qing-Yun Sect, Fang Xing had shot Tie Rukuang with an arrow from over ten miles away before using the Ten Mile Teleportation Talisman to help gain another ten miles of distance. The golden crow had also started using his secret technique to burn his blood essence and flee at extreme speeds, allowing the two of them to lose the tailing five Golden Cores and escape into the hundred thousand mountainsâŚ.
This time, however, he was trying to escape from the Huangfu clanâs temporary palace. Although heâd had the benefit of surprise and the Flag of Ten Thousand Spiritsâ self-destruction had helped gain a bit more time, the situation wasnât comparable to when he was fleeing from the Qing-Yun Sect. To make matters even worse, the person leading the chase was the third most powerful cultivator in the Huangfu clanâthe late-Golden Core Stage cultivator, Huangfu Qielanâwho had an extremely high battle prowess.
The Huangfu clan also had a flying vessel with them that wasnât any slower than a Golden Core if it was activated, and Fang Xing had whipped the Golden Cores into such a frenzied rage that it would be rather strange if he was able to escape so easily. No matter how one looked at it, the distance between Fang Xing and the Golden Cores continued to decrease and there was no doubt Fang Xing was as dead as dead can be. The enemies drew close enough they could even be see by the naked eye, but Fang Xing didnât panic; instead, he patted the golden crowâs back to signal everything was going according to plan.
The golden crow mentally prepared himself before drawing in a deep breath. âYou, listen up. Iâve got something to tell youâŚ.â
Fang Xing looked down at him, a bit taken aback.
âIf we two brothers donât die this time, there will surely be a day we roam this entire realm unhindered!â the golden crow loudly shouted. He then let out another loud shout and performed his secret technique to burn his blood essence, allowing him to increase his already extremely fast speed while flying in a specific direction.
Although the Huangfu clan cultivators behind him used different methodsâsome used flying tools, others used their own physical powers and teleportation, some showed the flickers of burning pelletsâall of them were using everything they could to catch up. They moved at a speed unimaginable for an ordinary cultivator, crossing thousand of miles in a mere flash to head in the same directionâŚ.
That direction was within the territory of the Bohai Kingdom, at a secret location named the Qingqiu Tombs. The golden crow used all of his might to rush in front of the Qingqiu Tombs before hastily working together with Fang Xing to break through the giant surrounding formation and rush inside.
The Huangfu clan cultivators arrived just as the two broke into the formation. Huangfu Qielan waved his palm, and the attack swept forward three to four miles ahead to crash against the formation like a great tidal wave. A great rumble rolled out as the formation was actually shaken by the attack, and even the golden crow and Fang Xing whoâd entered were affected and nearly fell.
âWhy would there be a formation here?â
âThat brat fled into the formationâŚ.â
The Huangfu cultivators started calling out with alarm after arriving at the Qingqiu Tombs, but Huangfu Qielan didnât think much of it and loudly called out, âYou want to escape with a mere formation?â He quietly observed for a few moments and determined the kid might try to use this to ambush him, so he commanded, âThree of you stay behind as guards, everyone else come with me. Weâll tear the formation apart; we must capture and kill that little brat!â
Deliberate and complicated ambushes were nothing more than a bad joke in the face of absolute power, and although someone with a cultivation level as high as his didnât truly need to worry about some kind of ambush from the this brat, he still left three men guarding outsideâjust in case.
Once the command was given, Huangfu Qielan released a loud yell before taking the lead to attack the formation and forcibly tear it apart. The outcome was similar to what happened to the Flag of Ten Thousand Spirits; under the combined force of the dozen Golden Coresâ attacks, the formation didnât last very long and was torn to shreds. By the time it was destroyed, Fang Xing and the golden crow was just about to enter the thick smog covering a section of the mountainous valleys, and the Huangfu cultivators clearly saw this and starting flying directly towards the smog with no hesitation.
The smog was so poisonous even cultivators in late Foundation Stage wouldnât dare to touch it casually, but these Golden Cores were more than capable of using their cultivation to fend it offâthe most they had to do was hold their breath. They all entered the smog to chase after the faint golden shadow that appeared upon occasion, until the shadow flew directly onto the stone platform hidden in the smogâs center and barged into the Blue-Moon Fox Hill itself.
As soon as he entered the stone cave, Fang Xing let out a loud shout while using his Qi so the words traveled deep inside the cave, âOld turtle bastard, you had so much fun trying to kill your little grandpa back then, so your little grandpa has brought people to come and chop you up!â While Fang Xing was in charge of cursing, the golden crow was in charge of navigating through the formations, which he smoothly avoided like a fish swimming through water.
The Huangfu cultivators immediately felt something was wrong after theyâd chased inside. The formations and restrictions within this stone cavern were actually many times more profound and difficult than those that were outside, and it was somewhat difficult for them to solve even with their level of cultivation. Hesitation began to build in their hearts; that little demon definitely couldnât have placed such profound formations.
Huangfu Qielan noticed the hesitation and started yelling in anger, âWhat are you all waiting for? You have to capture that little demon for me even if you have to break each and every formation here!â Heâd also realized how different this place was, but so what? If the little demon wasnât killed, how would they themselves be allowed to continue living? This place might be a bit peculiar butâno matter whether it was heaven or hellâthey still had no choice but to enter!
The Golden Cores were no longer in a position to care about such matters and each began utilizing their specialty to move forward. Some calculated the turns of the formations, while others attacked with their full strength, making progress little by little. Fang Xing with his Book of Revelation alongside the golden crow was actually able to travel faster than these Golden Cores within this strange stone cave, but after fleeing and seeing how the Golden Cores hadnât managed to catch up, he actually came to a decision and stopped flee. Instead, he lingered not far away from this group of Golden Cores while pretending to flee and loudly shouting, âYou Huangfu bastards, killing your young master today was just taking some interest! Your little grandpa here will one day massacre your whole family!â
So much blood shot through Huangfu Qielanâs eyes in his rage that it seemed as though they were about to pop. âKill him! We must kill him, and kill everyone relatedâno, kill everyone associated with him!â
The group of Golden Cores continued single-mindedly using everything they had to rush forward. When he saw heâd completely infuriated everyone, Fang Xing snickered and had the golden crow increase his speed while rushing into the depths and taking advantage of his much greater pace.
With one person serving as a lure and the others chasing after him, everyone gradually entered the depths of the stone cavern, drawing closer and closer to the immortalâs cave. The distance between the Golden Cores and Fang Xing began to widen, causing the group to grow even more agitated and start loudly cursing.
Amidst such chaos, an existence within a quiet immortalâs halls at the depths of the stone cavern finally began to awakenâŚ.
âNn? Someoneâs broken in here again?â That existence was the same stone tortoise Fang Xing had come across before, and it showed a look of confusion before snapping awake with a trace of hatred. He could hear shouts close to the hallâŚ.
âDamned old turtle, stupid turtle bastard, where the f*ck are you? Iâve brought people here; hand me all your treasures!â
The stone tortoise recognized that voice and flames of anger instantly lit up within him. âItâs that little brat!â With his connection to the formations within the area, he was able to sense no fewer than a dozen powerful masters doing their best to break the formations, and so he instantly yelled back in rage, âDamned little brat, scamming the inheritance of the immortalâs hall wasnât enough for you? You really think anyone is able to enter this immortalâs hall at will?â In his fury, he activated the formation directly. âShould you escape from me again today, may I be a stone turtle bastard for a million yearsâŚ.â
The golden crow shivered as he felt the activation of the formation. âThe formation has been activatedâŚ.â
âThe Yin Ghost Thralls have appeared as wellâŚ.â At that same moment, Fang Xingâs powerful senses had picked up a trace of a chill and he saw the floating white-clothed female ghosts at a distance. With this, he drew in a deep breath; he knew this was the time to use everything they had. âOkay, itâs time to escapeâŚ.â
The golden crow quietly pumped himself up several times before letting out a loud cry. âLetâs go!â He turned into the likes of a string of light and dived directly inside.
Various caves branched out from the central immortalâs hall like complex spiderwebs, and the golden crow prepared to dive into the cave next to the one they were already in. This was their second time in this tomb, after all, and whether it was in regards to cultivation or courage, they were far more prepared than last time and the golden crow wasnât terrified like heâd been before.
âEh? Whatâs that shiny stuff?â At the same time the golden crow turned to flee, Fang Xing reflexively noticed that amidst the kneeling corpses within the immortalâs hall, a rather eye-catching shiny bead was lying in front of a dragon-headed corpse. Heâd been so eager to get inside the immortalâs hall the first time he was here that he hadnât paid attention to the kneeling corpses, but he managed to see it by chance this time around. Although it was important for him to escape as soon as possible, the instinct of a bandit had been engraved into his very bones and he couldnât help but to reach out with gravitational force, causing it to fly up towards him before he stuffed it in his storage sack.
The shifts within the formations caught the attention of the Huangfu clanâs Golden Cores, filling all of them with surprise and alarm. Since the formation was purposefully activated, did that mean someone was actually controlling the formation? It had to be known that an automated formation and a formation being deliberately manipulated werenât on the same levels whatsoever; going from automated to purposefully controlled would increase the lethality of a formation by over tenfold.
The death passage door began pushing towards the group of Golden Cores.
All the cultivators were shocked and tried to flee in all directions, but there were still two or three that wound up engulfed. They were Golden Cores, but in the face of the great formationâs awe-inspiring suppression, they couldnât even let out a cry before being grinded up into minced meat.