While Chu Taishang and Prince Chu Huang were distracted with the matter involving Hou Guimen and Xiao Xue, Fang Xing had taken the time to flee. The Peng King had been unceasingly covering the Dragon Blood Pellets with malice during this time and these pellets' seals were much stronger because of it. Although the aura had leaked through on a few occasions, Fang Xing had already flown over hundreds of miles away and it no longer attracted the attention of the Chu pair.
After some time, he snuck his way back into the Wanluo Court before rushing into the grand hall and yelling out, "Grand Elder Wanluo? Grand Elder Wanluo? Where have you hidden yourself now? I've got something good for you; come out and have a look…."
Old Wanluo's impatient voice rose up from one of the halls, "What the hell are you yelling about, little bastard?" Once Fang Xing rushed inside the hall, he was met by old Wanluo's peculiar gaze. "How was seclusion inside the Court of Enlightenment?"
Fang Xing showed a shy smile in his surprise. "Not bad… but that's not important! I've brought you something good!"
It was Wanluo's turn to be surprised now. "What good stuff could you possibly have for me?"
Fang Xing furtively took out a Dragon Blood Pellet. "What do you think of this pellet? Not bad, ay?"
Old Wanluo took the pellet with some surprise. He carefully analyzed it and placed it close to his nose for a sniff before muttering, "This seems to be the Chu royal clan's Dragon Blood Pellet, right? Where did you get it from?"
"Where I got it is none of your business! In any case, I brought you a share of this good stuff!"
The old bastard Wanluo gazed towards him with suspicion. "A little turtle egg bastard like you is showing filial piety?"
"If you don't want it, then give it back!" Fang Xing replied in frustration.
Wanluo made a strange noise beneath his breath. "This pellet is indeed not bad, but it's unfortunately not much use to me. Since you took out such a valuable pellet for me, there must be something you want to ask of me. Tell me; if it's not hard, agreeing to help you isn't a problem!"
"Easy! Help me seal these two pellets!" Fang Xing joyously said. He then took out two more Dragon Blood Pellets and passed them in front of the old bastard Wanluo.
Wanluo was left dumbfounded and his voice was filled with suspicion. "Dragon Blood Pellets are secret pellets of the Chu royal court. They are extremely valuable, and they only have a total of twenty or so. How the hell did you suddenly get your hands on three?"
"Help me seal them first and then I'll tell you!" Fang Xing conspiratorially answered.
Wanluo could tell from Fang Xing's expressions that something had to be wrong and so began to speak in a low voice, "You little bastard, you must've caused some more trouble, right?" Before he could finish asking about it, a jade talisman in his hands began to shine. He picked it up and placed some of his spirit sense over the talisman, only for his face to be thoroughly filled with shock once he finished viewing the message's details. His gaze turned peculiar as he looked to Fang Xing, his eyes filled with surprise and wonder as well as a hint of disbelief….
Fang Xing actually felt some fear being faced with this stare and couldn't help but to ask, "What?"
Old bastard Wanluo spoke in a deep tone, "Chu Taishang and Zhang Daoyi started fighting. Mu Longyin then came along and joined in to fight Chu Taishang together. It can be said all of Snowy Mountain has been wrapped up in chaos; old man Hu Qin has asked me to go and try to console them…."
"Three Golden Cores are fighting now?" Fang Xing was surprised at first to hear the news, but he soon laughed to himself. 'What great powers I have….'
Wanluo took one look at his expression and immediately knew his assumption wasn't wrong; this definitely had something to do with this little brat. "'Heh' your *ss!" He smacked Fang Xing's upside the head, only to sigh when Fang Xing showed an innocent look. "For the Snowy Mountain to end up like this, you sure know how to create a scene, you little bastard. Who knows whether me taking you in is a good thing or a bad thing…?" With that, he extended his hand. "Give them to me!"
"Give you what?" Fang Xing dazedly asked.
Wanluo's gaze became stronger. "The Dragon Blood Pellets, what else?" After a pause, he lowered his voice again and spoke in nearly a whisper, "Things have gotten out of hand already. Let me tell you this: don't you ever admit you were the one who did this!"
Taken aback, Fang Xing rolled his eyes. "It's not like I'm an idiot!"
"You may not be an idiot yourself, but don't assume others are, either…." Wanluo released a sigh before helping Fang Xing seal the Dragon Blood Pellets' aura. With that, he prepared to take off to console the three Golden Cores, but Fang Xing quickly ran up and grabbed his sleeve.
"Let me go watch the drama…" Fang Xing begged. Wanluo was rendered speechless by this, but quickly thought it through and decided to take him along.
One old, one young, both soon arrived in front of the Demon God Valley from atop a cloud.
The entire valley was a huge chaotic mess while it seemed everyone was standing within the icy plains just outside. The scene was bizarre, to say the least. Chu Taishang's robe had two long slits as though it had been sliced by someone's sword; the bottom edges of Zhang Daoyi's robe was black and charred, as though having been burned by someone; and only a tall elderly man beside them—Sword Cleansing Court's grand elder, Mu Longyin—and the grey-robed old man Hu Qin seemed to have a fairly decent bearing, the latter standing off to the side with his hands resting on his back. A few hundred feet away, Prince Chu Huang, Hou Guimen, Xiao Xue, and Ying Qiaoqiao were all looking anxiously over in that direction.
The fight hadn't lasted very long. At first, Chu Taishang intended to fight his way into the Demon God Valley while Zhang Daoyi used his formation defensively. Just as Zhang Daoyi was about to buckle, Mu Longyin came along and—seeing his pupil had been wounded by someone else—he took out his sword to strike without saying a word. It was at this time Zhang Daoyi came out from his Demon God Valley as well to combine forces and fight against Chu Taishang, who was now left at a disadvantage. As Chu Taishang became strained by the circumstances, old man Hu Qin arrived. He took his time trying to calm down both parties while sending a message to the old bastard Wanluo claiming the two of them would be necessary to resolve this.
In truth, there wasn't much to "resolve", per se; when Chu Taishang saw he was worse off, he already no longer wished to fight. Zhang Daoyi had vented his anger by this point and felt there was no longer any need to fight on, and Mu Longyin—who'd received the least amount of damage—naturally felt there was no need to continue, either. There hadn't been too many rounds of blows before the three Golden Cores returned their Qi and weapons before sitting to meditate, silent and unspeaking for now.
Old bastard Wanluo laughed and walked up to the four other grand elders. "Heh, the Snowy Mountain must have been too dull. So before that grand opportunity arrives, you old farts decided to have a fight with each other first?"
After Fang Xing hopped off the cloud alongside Wanluo, he quickly ran some hundred feet away to where all the other disciples were while glancing around excitedly. He was really feeling so proud of himself he would given a bow if he could. He'd only wanted to misdirect some attention onto others so he could have time to flee back to Wanluo Court; who would have imagined it would cause such a huge scene? Even a Golden Core like Chu Taishang had been disadvantaged—this was an unexpected but very pleasant surprise!
When Fang Xing came over, Prince Chu Huang glared right at him with frigid, contemplative eyes.
The admiration Fang Xing received from Ying Qiaoqiao was overflowing. She'd originally believed her big brother Xiaojiu had caused a huge amount of trouble for himself and would be out of luck; she'd never expected that even though so many people were experiencing misfortune, her big brother Xiaojiu wasn't one of them. The three Golden Cores' fight had nearly flattened all of Demon God Valley, and who knew how many Demon God Valley disciples had been affected by this? Yet after the fight was finished, it was her big brother Xiaojiu who casually appeared, taking his sweet time.
As Fang Xing drew closer, he saw Hou Guimen sitting on the snowy ground, pale-faced and covered in muddy snow. "Oh dear, why have you been so wounded, my brother?"
After Chu Taishang had arrived at Demon God Valley, Hou Guimen hadn't had time to escape and had been too close when the two Golden Cores began their battle. He'd been hit by the aftershocks of the strike and been sent flying over a dozen feet, leaving his internal organs wounded.
"Ai, don't mention it…." Hou Guimen waved his hand. He really didn't want to talk about this dark day of his.
"It is most important to heal your wounds now. I've got some good medicine for wounds—here, take them!" Fang Xing then generously took out a few bottles of pellets and passed them towards Hou Guimen.
Hou Guimen had never met nor acquainted himself with Fang Xing. He originally didn't want to accept, but with a quick look, he noticed the pellets Fang Xing offered were all high quality, many of which not even the Ephemeral Butterfly had. Hou Guimen was rather moved by this; in the darkest day of his life, for Fang Xing—whom he'd only just met for the very first time—to show such generosity and give him these pellets was like a ray of warm sunshine on a cloudy day, mending his wounded body and soul.
"Thank you, little shidi." Hou Guimen gratefully accepted the medicine while looking towards him. "How shall I refer to you, dear shidi?"
Fang Xing modestly waved his hand. "We're all brothers, it's not worth mentioning at all. I am Wanluo Court's Fang Xiaojiu. Why don't we be friends?"
"It is my honor to meet you. I am Demon God Valley's Hou Guimen. If there's a chance in the future, I shall drink and chat with Shixiong…."
"You are too kind, Shixiong Hou. We must go drinking together sometime…."
Under the grateful eyes of Hou Guimen, Fang Xing strolled off before walking to around thirty feet away, where Xiao Xue sat atop a moss-covered rock. "Beautiful shijie, why do you look so pale?" he asked with a face full of smiles. "Have you been bitten by a turtle?"
Xiao Xue opened her eyes. The impression she had of Fang Xing wasn't bad since he'd taken her three strikes, and so she slowly gave a calm nod after seeing who it was. "Indeed. I have indeed been bitten by a golden turtle egg bastard!"
Fang Xing laughed. "You should be careful. Turtles love biting people and bite anyone they can. Who knows, they might start biting me in a moment!"
A voice suddenly rose up, the tone cold and detached. "Little brat, where were you earlier today?"
Speechless, Fang Xing helplessly shrugged his shoulders towards Xiao Xue. "It's started to bite me already, see?"
This time, Xiao Xue could no longer hold it in and finally burst out into laughter.