After making a subtle gesture towards Ying Qiaoqiao for the other two beside him to see, Mo Yang folded his hands behind his back and began to walk towards her. "To tell you the truth, there is a formation in the valley just ahead. I've solved most of it already, but I require another person to come inside to cover a pivot so I can take the formation-countering talisman within. Shimei Qiaoqiao, there is no need for you to worry; I can promise that if you lend your servant for a moment, I will guarantee you a chance to safely enter the Snowy Mountain's depths."
Astonished, Ying Qiaoqiao quickly interposed herself in front of Fang Xing and yelled, "No way, not a single chance! Don't you even dare think it!"
Mo Yang helplessly shook his head. "He is merely a servant. Why are you being so stingy?" he asked with growing impatience.
Ying Qiaoqiao was filled with anger. "Big Brother Xiao Jiu is not a servant! If anyone dares to touch him, I'll fight them with my life!"
"Heh, what a touching story between a master and servant…." The blue-robed youth let out a laugh. "Little sister, don't make us use force. You're not qualified to be our opponent!"
A scarlet red spread out along Ying Qiaoqiao's porcelain-white face, her expression growing severe. She quickly activated her Flying Sword, and the silhouette of a giant snake with a pair of wings—the beast spirit of her Yinglong Dragon—appeared above her, making it clear she was preparing for a fight. It was at that moment a hand settled onto her shoulder. "Are you stupid?" Fang Xing asked with clear confusion while looking at her flushed, dainty cheeks. "Why would you fight them with your life?"
"I… I was just very angry…" Ying Qiaoqiao mumbled. She only just realized what had happened and wasn't sure what else to say. After hearing Mo Yang's words, she'd suddenly felt an urge to protect Fang Xing that was so strong she'd completely forgotten there was a large army waiting not far away. When compared to that army's strength, these three were absolutely nothing.
"You are not professional enough! A bandit isn't supposed to anger the sheep!"
Ying Qiaoqiao was left speechless, thinking to herself she was never a professional bandit in the first place!
"Heh, has this kid gone crazy?" When he heard the mutterings between Fang Xing and Ying Qiaoqiao, the blue-robed youth sneered and urged in a low voice, "Stop wasting time. Take him down!"
Mo Yang nodded. He activated his Flying Sword and began to rotate it around his palm.
"Shimei Qiaoqiao, there is no need for you to be upset," Mo Yang said, moving closer all the while, "I will give you ten more lovable servants later."
It was at this time that Mo Yang suddenly felt something was amiss—it felt as though an aura of danger had surrounded him and was coming towards him. He turned in panic to look around, and both he and his two companions froze in shock.
It was only now that the three suddenly realized that they'd been surrounded by a countless number of spirit beasts without them even knowing. Snow Jiao Serpent, Ice Wolves, Frost Lions… there was even a White Jade Elephant. The forehead of each and every one of these spirit beasts flashed with an ancient and mysterious-looking symbol, as if this group was being controlled by someone. They covered an entire hill with obvious ill intentions, staring at these three youths as though they would pounce at any moment.
Mo Yang's jaw dropped and his voice began to tremble. "Don't… don't you do anything c— crazy…."
With the trio's combined battle prowess, they naturally wouldn't pay any mind to the Spirit Stage seventh-tier Ying Qiaoqiao or her servant, whose cultivation level couldn't even be determined. Now that they were suddenly facing so many spirit beasts, however, they were so frightened even their organs began to tremble. These spirit beasts were precisely the same ones they'd tried to avoid all this time; just what kind of methods had the pair used to bring them all under control?
"Crazy? Of course I won't do anything crazy!" Fang Xing took out the one-legged-man lance that had been covered in black cloth and pointed it at them. "Hand over all your formation-countering talismans and your storage sacks! If anyone dares to disobey me… heh heh heh…."
Aooo….
All of the spirit beasts let out long howls once Fang Xing had finished speaking, the force alone causing the three to grow pale.
"Are you… are you going to rob us? You're nothing but a servant! You… it's best you think it through!" Mo Yang loudly yelled in embarrassment, although he didn't dare to do anything just yet. Fang Xing, on the other hand, didn't even look him; he simply waved his hand and said, "Children, go!"
Rumblerumblerumble
A large group of spirit beasts dashed forward like a tidal wave, instantly washing over the trio—Mo Yang included.
A burn of an incense later, Fang Xing held three formation-countering talismans in his hand, which he looked over again and again in satisfaction. As for Mo Yang and his group, they'd been dropped inside a snowy valley full of restrictive formations, covered in wounds and stripped of their clothes. They shivered in cold while huddling together in warmth, their expressions as blank as corpses.
If Fang Xing had only taken their formation-countering talismans, it'd been fine. Even if he took their Black Ice Orders, they would have accepted it. To take even their storage sacks, though… they had no other option but to give up.
But why had he stripped them naked?
All three of them were in an extremely awkward state. Although the three of them had a fairly close relationship, they'd never been this close before….
Everywhere they went, they robbed!
There was a strange sight amidst the trial grounds of the Snowy Mountain. On top of a Snow Jiao Serpent was a servant-clothed youth, with a porcelain-skinned girl seated in front of him. Behind him was a large group of vicious spirit beasts following along and roaming over the snowy plains, like bandit beasts prowling for their next prey. Every time they saw another human, the servant-clothed youth would let out a loud whistle and the spirit beasts would suddenly move to surround the newcomer.
"Hand over all your Black Ice Orders, formation-countering talismans, and storage sacks!"
The group contained a large number of really powerful spirit beasts. This Snow Jiao Serpent, for example, was enough to fight an early-Foundation Stage cultivator in raw physical strength. For these Spirit Stage elites, this group was far too powerful to contend with. Besides, with such great numbers, a giant pack like this would cause anyone to quiver in terror at the sight.
"Nn? People from the Myriad Beasts Sect? What do you want?"
"This is crossing the line! How dare you want to rob us?"
The reactions of the elite youths varied. Some were surprised, while others felt the concept itself was quite funny. Fang Xing didn't care how they reacted, however; he robbed each and every one of them without a trace of mercy. Male, female, ugly, attractive, it didn't matter at all.
As the army of spirit beasts ventured deeper into the Snowy Mountain, every inch they passed became barren, and groups of "elites" would be left behind, literally penniless. Those who willingly handed over their storage sacks, formation-countering talismans, and Black Ice Orders were slightly better off, however—those who refused lost even their clothes.
In a mere half day's time, the pair had already traveled through a majority of the trial grounds and a black mountain peak was in their sights.
"Haha, I say, the trial on this Snowy Mountain wasn't that hard, right?" Fang Xing laughed from atop the Snow Jiao Serpent's back while holding onto around six formation-countering talismans.
Ying Qiaoqiao's dainty hands held around eight formation-countering talismans as well as she excitedly nodded. "It does seem like it's not that hard…."
Within a giant grand hall within the depths of the Snowy Mountain, five elderly men sat atop a jade platform and discussed amongst each other in low voices.
"The trial we set, perhaps it was a bit too difficult?"
"If we are seeking suitable successors, we naturally need to see their true abilities. Otherwise, if they were to enter that place, it would no longer be whether they are able to obtain any of the grand opportunities, but whether they'd be able to even survive!" someone responded in an authoritative manner.
"Aii, truthfully speaking, I am not too optimistic about these people. Chufung and the seven countries surrounding it have few true elites. That Xiao clan's daughter and Chu Huang would naturally be included, as would the little girl with the name "Ye Gu'yin", taught by Hu Qin. There were also two more from the Qing-Yun Sect and one from Ephemeral Butterfly, it's just that…." Another elderly man spoke up to the previous, but he suddenly paused only halfway through.
An old man next to him suddenly let out a laugh. "Ye Gu'yin was defeated in the end. Xiao Jianming is already dead. Based on what you're saying, that traitor who left the Qing-Yun Sect would be considered the top elite of all Chufung?"
The previous man grew quiet for some time before he smiled. "If we can find that kid, he would really be considered the most suitable candidate for our plan this time. Except who knows where he could have gone after stirring up so much trouble!"
A cold and stern-looking old man then responded, "Murder, plundering the valleys, betraying a sect, all these things would have been fine. Yet he also committed the crime of rape. This means he has already entered the path of the dark sects, making him reprehensible. How could he be entrusted by us with such an important responsibility? Nothing more needs to be said; even if we are able to find that kid, I will kill him so that little devil won't grow up to harm any more people!"
At that same moment, a grey-robed elder in the middle suddenly began to speak in a calm manner. "I may not know about the other things, but the rumor about the vile act of rape is not true. When my student returned, she recounted to me in detail what happened. Although that child's temperament is rather nasty, he definitely did not do that sort of thing to her. After observing her expressions, I can confirm she is speaking the truth—her body is still pure."
Everyone became quiet upon hearing the old man's words.
Another old man suddenly broke the silence. "A man and a woman alone together for half a month not doing anything at all? Is that kid an idiot?"
"Haha…" the old men began to laugh, and not even that grey-robed elder could hold it in. "Old geezer Wanluo, you've lived for eight hundred years already yet you still have the same impish temperament you had in your youth. No wonder a bunch of women came to your sect and tore it apart even down to the signboard only a hundred years after it was established. How a Golden Core Stage grand-elder like yourself only dared to hide inside a coffin to avoid seeing any of them!"
Another person laughed out, "If all his past lovers hadn't all died out by now, I doubt he'd have shown himself again even now!"
"Heh heh…." This Wanluo grand-elder wasn't angry at all and instead laughed as well. "A man shall lie drunken over the knees of a beauty, sober when ruling the land under the heavens. Except, uh… I might have laid on too many beauties' knees, and all of them happened to be a bit too fierce…."
"Haha, I say, if that kid really showed himself, I bet you'd immediately take him in as your pupil, wouldn't you?"
"Not necessarily. If he had actually done something in that half month, I think I would really have taken him in, hahaha…."
As this group of aged old men began to tease each other, the awe-inspiring aura around them began to disappear.
"Enough! Stop mocking around now!" That stern-looking old man let out a light cough. "Calculating the time, people should be coming soon."
"Mm, it would then come down to whether they'd be able to pass this final hurdle or not!"