Xiao Jianming did not continue his attacks. He’d already noticed Fang Xing was not wounded whatsoever, and he no longer had enough of a power advantage to take the boy’s life with a single strike. Even if he did continue, Xu Linyun would assuredly come to Fang Xing’s aid; not only would he be unable to kill Fang Xing if that happened, but he would also end up offending Xu Linyun.
As Xiao Jianming considered the issue, he suddenly opened his mouth to speak. "Boy, since you already attacked me earlier, why don’t we battle it out fair and square? If you have the guts, that is. How about I even let you have the first ten strikes? Heh, hiding behind a woman, what kind of ability is that?" He wanted to incite Fang Xing into making the first attack so he could have a reasonable excuse to get rid of the boy.
Fang Xing, however, was not easily fooled. "I have the ability to convince a woman to let me hide behind her. What, are you mad?"
Xiao Jianming paused slightly before responding swiftly with hatred, "You won’t be able to act so arrogantly for long. I will kill you within a year!" As soon as he finished speaking, he aimed a vicious glare towards Fang Xing before turning towards the altar to join the rest of the disciples in instilling it with Qi.
In the end, Xiao Jianming had decided to forget about fighting with the boy for now. The altar was in critical condition, and if he chose to attack Fang Xing instead of helping stabilize it, it would be counted as extreme misconduct if Xu Linyun were to report it to the sect. Despite this, Fang Xing had managed to enflame his anger so thoroughly he didn’t even bother putting up a pretense and had directly threatened Fang Xing’s life.
"One year? By then, it’ll be me—your grandpa’s—turn to kill you!" Fang Xing muttered to himself in disdain, his eyes shining as he spat hatefully to the ground. Although he had slapped Feng Qingwei because he felt she was extremely annoying, he had also wanted to goad Xiao Jianming into attacking him so Fang Xing could probe exactly how strong he was. Trying to take the Blue Centipede’s beast core had been for the same purpose. Now that he’d tested out Xiao Jianming’s abilities, Fang Xing realized he was in fact very strong—much stronger than an ordinary cultivator of the same level.
However, killing him was not strictly impossible.
Fang Xing was still a little too weak right now, of course. To reach a high enough level to kill Xiao Jianming would take at least another year or two.
Seeing how all of the disciples had moved to the altar, Fang Xing did not want to join with the others since the altar was giving off a sense of danger for him. Instead, he looked around and saw Feng Qingwei hadn’t joined them either, and was instead sitting on the ground in a daze. He smirked at her and said, "Stinky bi*ch, I still haven’t done a body search on you after you stole my underwear. Come, let me search you thoroughly…."
Feng Qingwei was startled and frantically tried to get away from the boy. "Don’t… don’t come near me…."
Seeing such a pitiful woman caused Fang Xing to grow a bit disinterested. He decided he would just send a kick to her rear to finish up the matter, but just as he was about to do so, a loud noise abruptly rang out. Within the noise was an aged voice that released a laugh filled with madness and despair. The black smoke within the altar slammed against the nine chains at the entrance once more, and this time, it did not fall back down and attempted to break through.
The nine chains on the altar had clearly experienced a huge surge of force, and a large number of the spells shined brightly before quickly dimming with explosive sounds. All of the Qing-Yun disciples were surprised and only increased the amount of Qi they instilled.
A voice filled with grief rose up within the surges of black smoke, "Three hundred years…. I have already been trapped for three hundred years…. You still intend to keep me here?" Like an ancient curse, it shook the heartstrings of those who heard.
The Qing-Yun disciples finally began to see that within the black smoke was a giant and vicious-looking bird, its size not much smaller than the altar’s itself. It was covered with deep golden feathers, and all of the black smoke had originated from its body while it released a potent energy. As the feathered beast continued to attack the chains, the black smoke was emitted faster and faster.
"My god…. It’s— it’s the beast king! Is it going to break through the seal?"
"It’s… it’s the Golden Core Stage beast king…. It’s going to break through the seal soon!"
A number of disciples began to yell out in fear and panic, losing sight of their surroundings.
"Silence!" Xiao Jianming suddenly shouted. "All disciples, adhere to and protect your minds, then activate the formation. This beast king has already been sealed for three hundred years, and its cultivation is nearly completely gone with only a strand of spirit left. This is just its final radiance before its death—there is no way it can escape." His voice did indeed clear the minds of the many panic-stricken disciples, who calmed themselves and resumed instilling the formation with Qi.
"Hahahahaha…. Better to be broken jade than intact tile. I would rather regain my freedom today, even if it means death…" the beast king mournfully cried. The black smoke on its body instantly became ten times thicker, and it shifted slightly back before drawing upon all of its strength to bang against the nine chains with a loud noise. The chains shook violently, causing the weaker Qing-Yun disciples to spew out blood while the rest did not look like they were having an easy time of it either. The nine chains had been lifted by the beast king’s force, and it looked as though they’d been strained to their limits and were going to break any second now.
"Shimei Linyun, let’s combine our might!" Xiao Jianming shouted as he jumped upwards, followed by Xu Linyun also flying higher. One silver sword and one black sword crossed each other as they both utilized Qing-Yun Nine Swords, and the sword lights phased through the chains to land directly against the beast king’s body.
"I…. am not resigned…." As though a needle had been pushed into a full bladder, when the two sword lights landed, the beast king—who had stimulated its full power throughout its body—suddenly exploded like a popped balloon. An ear-splitting sound rang out as an endless supply of flesh splashed all over the area and black smoke began to bubble out from the altar’s entrance. In a single moment, black smoke blanketed a three-mile radius centered around the altar like a thick fog, and the nine chains all lit up together as the formation was reactivated.
All of the Qing-Yun disciples let out sighs of relief.
"What happened?"
"Is the beast king dead?"
"It seems the beast king wanted to break out of the seal, but its flesh was broken into pieces instead and it died…."
Amidst the chatter, no one noticed that—within the strange black fog—a faint silhouette was rushing towards Fang Xing. Fang Xing had been drawn to the loud sounds at the altar and had turned to look, when he suddenly felt a chill upon his face like a cold wind followed by his entire body collapsing to the ground.
"Hahahaha…. That white-haired freak still miscalculated a step. I am still out…" a maddened laughter resounded in Fang Xing’s ear.
Fang Xing slowly opened his eyes and saw that he was standing inside a vast ocean with endless blue waves. Sitting down and crossing his legs, he found a small altar beneath him, and it seemed as though the altar was in the center of the ocean’s entirety, forever unmoved.
"This is… my Sea of Knowledge?"
Fang Xing had soon realized where he was—his Sea of Knowledge, an internal location that was incredibly private for any cultivator. In the entire lifespan of a person, there would be no disruptions until someone had reached the Foundation Stage, and it would be extremely difficult for a cultivator to naturally enter. This only happened under specific circumstances, either when a powerful cultivator forcefully brought its owner inside, or when a cultivator’s Spirit Sense detected something dangerous.
He swept his attention around and soon understood why he had arrived at his Sea of Knowledge—his soul was indeed in danger! In such a private location, an unwelcomed guest had arrived: a powerful old man wearing a cape of golden feathers.
The elderly man was giant, as tall as a hundred feet with eagle-like eyes, sharp and chilling. He was wearing a golden-feathered cape as he stood airborne over the vast ocean, laughing, and in his laugh was joy and the hope for freedom.
"Who the hell are you?" Fang Xing asked as he looked curiously at the old man without even a hint of fear.
"Hahahahaha…" the old man laughed. The voice was so full of earth-shaking pressure, that it seemed as though the entire realm of this Sea of Knowledge shook to the point of nearing collapse. "I am the demonic king of the legendary Flying Peng[1] tribe. I’ve been trapped for three hundred and twenty-one years, and today, I would rather dispose of my flesh in exchange to finally have a chance to escape the seal. Boy, you are very lucky; I have chosen your flesh, and all you have to do is allow me to take over your body! Before you disappear, you can tell me any wishes you have, and if it’s not too hard, it wouldn’t be a problem for me to help you fulfill it…" the old man coldly said, his body slightly tilted forward to look down upon Fang Xing.
In comparison, Fang Xing’s body was like an ant standing before a giant mountain. He blinked before finally understanding what this beast king intended to do, and he coldly laughed in his mind. "So you’re that bird that was sealed by our Qing-Yun’s great grand-elder?" he bluntly asked.
The elder was incensed. "Nonsense! I am the Flying Peng Demonic King. ‘That bird’? Let alone ten of the Golden Core Stage masters in a small sect like yours, how would they even stand a chance of hurting me? If it wasn’t for that white-haired freak who appeared from nowhere, even if I was already heavily wounded, my speed is so great I could escape the nine heavens and they would still not be able to do anything about me…."
Fang Xing rolled his eyes. "Well, you still got sealed. What are you boasting about now?"
"Argh…. Infuriating!" the elder began to curse. "Three hundred years of being trapped, and now even small insects like you dare to look down on me?" As he loudly spoke, his giant hand waved towards Fang Xing in an attempt to grab him so he could swallow him in one go.
This was an illusory realm formed by the Sea of Knowledge. This Fang Xing was the true soul of his physical body, and the elder would be able to take over Fang Xing’s flesh if he swallowed him. In the world of cultivation, this would be called "Spirit Possession".
"Wait…." Fang Xing suddenly raised a hand to hal the elder’s movements before him.
The calm look on Fang Xing’s face caused the elder to feel slight surprise and his palm slowed. "Are you not afraid of me?"
Fang Xing sighed before snickering. "Really, you could have picked anyone yet you chose me?"
[1] Peng: A legendary giant bird that is formed from the Kun fish in Chinese mythology. Peng is likened to the Roc or Garuda, and Kun to the Leviathan.