While the golden crow was in a state of panic, Fang Xing had already entered his Sea of Consciousness.
Similar to the last time with the Peng King, Fang Xing was involuntarily drawn into his Sea of Consciousness because a strange energy had entered. He’d already felt something was wrong when he was on the golden crow’s back, but he didn’t expect this something to arrive quickly. Before he could manage to react whatsoever, the strange energy had already found its way inside.
Within the Sea of Consciousness, Fang Xing sat atop a small altar, while the Peng King stood next to him with wide-open eyes.
Nine monsters floated in the sky above the ocean. They seemed to have no physical body and were instead made up of black smoke that changed shape from time to time. Some times they were shaped like humans, other times like bloodthirsty beasts, and one of them even occasionally shifted into the appearance of Xiao Jianming, with its face twisted in a silent cry and scream—as though it was Xiao Jianming’s actual soul. The monsters were all extremely terrifying as they flew around in the air.
"What are all these things? They look so stupid!" Fang Xing asked while turning towards the dumbstruck Peng King.
Although these nine monsters were floating around in the sky crying, moaning, and giving off an overbearing energy while making threatening gestures, Fang Xing and the Peng King watched with unusual calm. Instead, the expression on the two’s faces was as though they were looking at nine idiots.
The Peng King showed a weak smile. "It’s a curse from someone who wants you dead. Who did you offend?"
"There’s too many, but for now, it’s probably at least three Foundation Stage cultivators that want me dead. If you were to include a few more, there’s probably at least a couple more big-names I don’t know the cultivation level of!"
The Peng King sighed. "That explains it, then. I’ve heard of this curse, and it’s extremely powerful; if it was a Foundation Stage cultivator who performed this, they would have had to sacrifice at least thirty years of their lifespan. These nine monsters are the demons of the curse. They’re invisible in the outside world, and only reveal themselves in the Sea of Consciousness. Heh heh, that person must have hated you to the core to use such a method to attack your True Spirit directly. You can’t do anything no matter how many spirit tools you have!"
Fang Xing couldn’t help but to be startled by this. "Thirty years of lifespan? … Doesn’t that mean it’s really scary?"
The Peng King clicked his tongue. "Scary your *ss! Even I can’t hurt a single hair of your True Spirit; what could these small-fry demons do? If anything, it’s more like that Foundation Stage cultivator is giving you free cultivation levels…."
Fang Xing’s eyes brightened when he heard that. "Free cultivation levels?"
"The cultivator used thirty years of life as an offering for these nine demons; if you’re able to digest all nine of them, you will obtain those same thirty years! Of course, you won’t be able to actually add thirty years to your life, but you can refine it into cultivation levels. There are so many benefits for someone in Spirit Stage like you!"
Fang Xing laughed. "That person is being so generous, I have no choice but to accept!"
"Can I discuss something with you?" The Peng King pleaded with shifty eyes.
This immediately put Fang Xing on alert. "If you’re trying to take advantage of me, you can forget it!"
Initially struck speechless by the response, the Peng King soon replied, "I only wanted to ask if you’d share some of these nine demons? I’m not having it easy being trapped in your Sea of Consciousness. I have to run away from your True Samadhi Fire now and again, and now I’m truly so weak that if I get burned again by your fire, I might actually be snuffed out right then and there. If you gave me a few demons, I would at least be able to
recover some of my True Spirit’s vitality…."
Now that he knew why the Peng King was interested in these demons, Fang Xing seriously considered the suggestion. "How about this: you tell me how to refine these demons into cultivation, and I’ll give you one for you to use?"
"Can I have two?" the Peng King cautiously asked.
Fang Xing’s eyes grew wide and the True Samadhi Fire within the Sea of Consciousness immediately rose higher. "What, trying to haggle?"
The Peng King was so terrified he shrank back. "Fine, fine, one will do, just one…."
Fang Xing grinned. "Then tell me now. I’m still in danger on the outside; I can’t stay here forever!"
The Peng King became a bit more spirited. "First, you need to wrap them in your True Samadhi Fire. These things are closely linked to the person who summoned them, and that person might be able to use them to trace your precise location…."
"Sh*t, why the hell didn’t you say this earlier?" Fang Xing exclaimed. With a command, the True Samadhi Fire immediately ignited and enveloped all nine of the demons within. The demons instantly became maddened and gave off low growls as they tried to retaliate and escape, but the moment any of these terrifying-looking demons touched the flaming True Samadhi Fire, their bodies would shiver in pain and the black smoke of their forms would evaporate into white smoke.
The Peng King didn’t dare to delay and began explaining the method’s details to Fang Xing.
It was impossible for Xiao Shanhe to imagine that the spell he’d performed—a spell he’d been able to cast only after sacrificing thirty years of his lifespan and his own nephew’s flesh and blood—would be completely useless on Fang Xing. The curse was supposed to be incurable for Spirit Stage cultivators, yet these nine demons were now nothing more than prey locked up in a cage….
However, although the demons weren’t that threatening, they still managed to cause a few annoyances. Before Fang Xing had completely absorbed all nine of them, he would be unable to leave the Sea of Consciousness, and he wouldn’t feel anything going on in the outside world.
These demons weren’t the same as the Peng King, after all; whereas the Peng King had his own consciousness and knew what to do and not do, these nine demons were more like a collection of madmen. Until they were absorbed completely, the demons would continue to attack Fang Xing’s True Spirit without hesitation or pause. It was too dangerous and uncertain to leave them alone in his Sea of Consciousness when it was impossible to tell when these demons might break through and begin attacking again.
"Then I need to refine them as soon as possible. I don’t have much time and still have to flee for my life…." Once Fang Xing understood the method from the Peng King, he began immediately, and the True Samadhi Fire rose up once again to bake these nine demons like cooking sweet potatoes.
As for the Peng King, he was also extremely excited. His eyes shined bright and his hands fidgeted with anticipation to absorb the demon that belonged to him.
Meanwhile, on the outside, a giant spirit vessel flew in the air as hundreds of Qing-Yun disciples disembarked in search of something.
Elder Qin’nyao’s gaze was as cold as ice as she gave her chilling commands, "Elder Xiao already heavily wounded that little devil, and after following his traces, we’ve determined he hid himself somewhere within a few thousand miles of this deep forest. He somehow managed to hide and keep us from pinpointing his precise location, so you disciples will break up into teams of three to scour this place inch by inch. Whoever finds that little devil will not only receive a large amount of rewards, but both Elder Xiao and I can guarantee you will become a Qing-Yun Sect core disciple and rise to the heavens with a single step!"
"Core disciple!"
"This is a huge opportunity! To become a core disciple really would be like rising to the heavens with a single step!"
All the Qing-Yun disciples tightened their fists in clear excitement as they grouped up and headed into the forest.
Elder Qin’nyao watched from atop the spirit vessel with a cold gaze. After sacrificing thirty years, not only should Elder Xiao have been able to destroy the brat’s True Spirit directly, but he should also have been able to track its aura to find exactly where he was. For some reason, however, the aura they were tracking had suddenly disappeared halfway through. The only thing they could be sure of was that the brat hadn’t fled too far away yet and was still somewhere within a three-thousand-mile radius of this forest.
Still, even for a Foundation Stage cultivator like her, searching this vast forest alone was impossible. In order to accomplish this, six hundred Qing-Yun Sect disciples—all of the inner court disciples excluding those from Duanzhen—and some of the talented outer court disciples were all gathered together to search for the sect’s traitor using the most basic but effective method—searching the forest inch by inch….
After all, even if the brat was able to hide his presence, there was no way he’d be able to make himself invisible, right? If Qin’nyao stood guard in this area while Chen Baoyan stood guard over the skies at the other end of the forest, the disciples could let them know if they found out where the brat was. After that, it was just a matter of seizing the brat and killing him.
At the same time, in a place not too far from the spirit vessel, the golden crow had run out of ideas before finally hiding Fang Xing in a cave. He looked down at the numerous burnt patches on his feathers and shook his head with a sigh. "Hot like a live charcoal, your Uncle Gold won’t be able to take you with him anymore. Hopefully you’ll wake up soon; your Uncle Gold isn’t going to stick around if it gets dangerous…."
Afterwards, the crow simply found a giant tree and settled quietly atop one of its branches. He placed the Mask of Wanluo over his face and—after instilling some of his Qi—his presence disappeared completely to prevent people from finding him.
The reason the golden crow was willing to put himself in danger and stay behind to wait was also thanks to the secret flying technique of the Giant Peng Clan taught to him by Fang Xing. It had greatly improved his flying speed, and even if danger did arrive, not even Foundation Stage cultivators would be able to catch up to him if he used this technique to flee. If it weren’t for this, he would have left long ago, right after he found out he couldn’t carry Fang Xing with him anymore.
Before long, a few blue-robed Qing-Yun disciples walked over while chattering in high spirits. The head of the group swept his gaze in all directions as he spoke with excitement, looking extremely cheerful. "All of you, search carefully! If any one of you is able to find that brat, heheheh, you’ll become a core disciple! This is a once in a lifetime opportunity! Xiao Jianming was killed by that brat and the brat himself became a traitor, so our Qing-Yun Sect is left with only one core disciple—Shijie Linyun. If someone becomes a core disciple now, not only will they have plenty of resources, but Shijie Linyun might even be…."
The person next to him smiled. "Shixiong Xuanzhao, that brat betrayed the sect and fled, yet you seem to be quite happy?"
The leading youth smiled in return. "If I can find that brat, I’ll be even happier, but I know someone who doesn’t seem very happy, right, Yu Sanliang? Shixiong Yu, I know your relationship with that brat is pretty close…."
Those words startled a tall and plump man tailing at the end of the group, and he suddenly began to wave his hands. "No, no, not really…."