A silent gust of wind swept through the empty hall. Before Fang Xing had realized it, he was the only one left within all of Snowy Mountain.
An unpleasant thought rose up within Fang Xing's mind and he quickly flew up into the air. He searched all of the Wanluo Court, Sword Cleansing Court, Demon God Valley, and even the royal court and Court of Enlightenment, yet he couldn't find even the shadow of a person. Immediately anxious, he dropped his cloud in front of the main hall of Snowy Mountain and loudly cursed, "Wanluo you old turtle egg of a bastard, you said it'd take a year to master this skill, I said it'd take half, and yet after I mastered it even sooner, you actually left me behind to go with them! This is just too much!"
His exasperated voice echoed against the front of the Snowy Mountain's main hall, with only the sound of the wind giving a response.
Fang Xing took out a message talisman, but the talisman itself was dim. These spirit tools could allow people to transmit messages, but they only worked within a hundred or so miles and he didn't know how long the old Wanluo had been traveling or in which direction he'd gone.
"What are you yelling about, boy?" a low, ghastly voice rose up from the side hall as an old servant walked out. It was precisely the same old man who'd been guarding the Scripture Caves, and in his hands were a few jade scrolls. Now that the disciples had left the Snowy Mountain, he needed to destroy these manuals to prevent the secret spells and skills within the Snowy Mountain from being leaked to the outside world. Since all of the disciples had finished their studies here, all of the manuals had to be destroyed.
Fang Xing hastily flew over now that he'd finally found someone. "Where did they all go, old man?"
The old man calmly cleansed the jade scrolls using a special skill and replied, "Naturally, they've left to seek the grand opportunity."
Fang Xing grew even more anxious. "Seeking the grand opportunity where?"
The old man looked curiously at Fang Xing. "You are also a disciple of the Snowy Mountain and should have gone directly to the grand opportunity's location, but you're now asking me where it is? Aiii, too late; it would be too late now even if I did tell you. My master didn't tell me the precise location of the grand opportunity, but he did unintentionally mention it being to the west of Bohai Kingdom and to the south of Chufung Kingdom, some thousand miles away from here. With your ability, though, it's likely the grand opportunity would have already passed by the time you arrive since you've missed the spirit vessels…."
'F*ck, I have to get there!' The thought he wouldn't be able to join in on the lively event the five Golden Cores had found to important caused him no end of anxiety and worry. He cursed in his mind before hopping onto his black cloud and flying towards the Snowy Mountain's outskirts.
The reason for his anxiety went without saying. If the opportunity was on the west side of Bohai Kingdom, then it would be thousands of miles away from the Melodic Ice Palace. It had taken a good half month to arrive at the Melodic Ice Palace from the Myriad Beasts Sect, and he didn't have a particularly fast flying spirit tool, either. Even if he were to fly without rest or sleep, how could he still make it in time? Perhaps it really would end up like the old man had said; by the time he'd arrive, that tasty freshly cooked meal would be as cold as ice.
After rushing to the outskirts of the valley, he started to formulate a plan. Perhaps he should go rob the nearby Melodic Ice Palace to get a supreme-quality flying tool of some sort….
Just at that moment, he heard a faint cry coming from the northwest. It was a high-pitched voice, but was rather familiar all the same, causing his heart to be slightly moved. He quickly turned around and flew three or so miles in that direction before seeing a thunderous light flying forward at an extremely fast speed. Within the thunderous light was a purple-gold carriage, and not far behind were one red and three black-clothed people giving chase.
"Your Highness, Princess, please stop or please don't blame this flunky for his rudeness…." The people giving chase all seemed to be Yin Servants of the Chu royal court. They were all in Foundation Stage and chased after the carriage with great urgency.
"I want to go to the Beast Exhausting Range as well!" a hurried and nervous voice yelled out from within the carriage. "Royal Big Brother went, all the other disciples from the Snowy Mountain went, so why did they leave only me behind? Don't you stop me; I will go to the Beast Exhausting Range too by myself…."
The red Ying Servant called, "Princess, Your Highness, His Highness has ordered since you haven't succeeded the Dragon-String Guzheng, your battle prowess isn't high enough and therefore you cannot go to accept that grand opportunity. His Highness has specifically ordered me to take you back to the palace; please do not make it difficult for this flunky…."
"I don't care! I have to go to the Beast Exhausting Range! Don't you stop me, or else… as soon as I get back, I'll have all of your heads cut off!"
With only these few exchanges, Fang Xing understood the entire course of events and was left a bit surprised. It seemed he wasn't the only one who'd been left behind; Princess Chu Ci had apparently been left behind as well since she hadn't obtained the Dragon-String Guzheng, and her thoughts actually mirrored his own. She was determined to go to where that grand opportunity was, which is why she'd escaped from the grasp of her Yin Servants tasked with guiding her back to the royal palace.
'Heh, little girl, this spirit tool of yours would be best in the hands of your little grandpa here!' Fang Xing thought to himself with a smirk; this little girl had practically hand-delivered him a spirit tool to get where he needed to go! He raised the Flag of Ten Thousand Spirits and began to fly downwards.
"Please do excuse my rudeness, Your Highness!" That red Yin Servant was in the mid-Foundation Stage, yet he was unable to catch up to the purple-gold carriage even with his full power, and he began to panic when he noticed the distance was only steadily growing. He knew Princess Chu Ci might end up wounded if he were to forcibly stop the carriage, but he also knew the punishment he'd received if she managed to escape wouldn't be a simple one. "Go! Overcast Iron Lock!" The red-clothed Yin Servant wasn't in a position to worry about anything else and yelled out a command while throwing out a black chain and lock
The distance between him and the carriage had already increased from thirty feet to a hundred, but this iron chain actually continued to extend without end. Like a venomous black snake, it threw itself onto the back of the purple-gold carriage like a bolt of lightning and began to coil itself tightly around the wheel. It halted the carriage with an enormous, violent force that caused it to nearly tip over.
"Are you ok, Your Highness?" the red-clothed Yin Servant worriedly asked while rushing over to check if Chu Ci had been injured.
Before the Yin Servant even managed to get within fifty feet of the carriage, however, a silhouette suddenly jumped out and yelled, "This is a robbery!" With a slice of its palm, the iron chain that had coiled around the wheel was shattered and the silhouette slipped into the carriage.
A loud slap rang out right before a dizzy Chu Ci was tossed outside, the girl's body falling down to land in the thick snow below. Her upper body was buried beneath the surface like a radish while her long legs waved in the air nonstop.
"Perky Butt, your little grandpa has taken a liking to your carriage and will therefore claim it as his own. It's best for you to go home, ahaha!" With a laugh, Fang Xing activated Gravitational Force to pull the carriage into the air and began instilling Qi into it try to get it moving. This time, however, he was the one left dumbfounded—there wasn't a hint of response even after pouring in his Qi.
The red-clothed Yin Servant had just now managed to close the distance and was startled at such a sight. "Where did a thief like you come from? How dare you act so impudently towards Her Highness! Your crimes deserve a million deaths!" he loudly yelled out as a cold chill ran down his spine. He didn't pay any attention to the airborne Fang Xing and instead rushed to Chu Ci's side to check for wounds. After he managed to pull her out from the snow, it became clear her forehead was stained with blood.
The cold from the snow actually chased away the dizziness Princess Chu Ci had felt within the carriage, and she was able to recognize that laughter as belonging to Fang Xing. The manner in which he'd tossed her away—so inelegant and improper—further stoked her flames of anger and she yelled out in fury, "I'm going to kill you, Fang Xiaojiu!"
Fang Xing popped his head out from within the carriage and called back, "Perky Butt, why isn't this carriage moving?"
"What a vile thief! How can you and your filthy blood drive the items of the Chu royal court? I shall split you into a million pieces!" After seeing Chu Ci's wounds weren't very serious, the red-clothed Yin Servant calmed down and sent his Overcast Iron Lock towards the carriage once more.
Fang Xing snuck out from the carriage and waved his hand to shatter the iron chain once more. His gaze then fell upon Princess Chu Ci still settled on the snow-filled ground. "Nn? Only the bloodline of the golden turtle egg bastards can activate it?"
"How dare you, thief! You seek death!" The fact Fang Xing wasn't even paying any attention to him caused the red-clothed Yin Servant's rage to boil to the peak. With a yell, his malice rumbled forward and became two giant invisible hands clawing towards Fang Xing.
Chu Ci's heart nearly leapt from her throat. 'He… he wouldn't be killed so easily, right?' Although she hated Fang Xing with a burning passion, she wasn't someone who liked to kill. The red-clothed Yin Servant was in Foundation Stage tier four, and even the three black-clothed Yin Servants were in Foundation Stage either two or three. They'd come from the royal court specifically to bring her back to the palace, and their battle prowess was already considered the peak amongst the Chu royal court's servants. How could this seemingly early-Foundation Stage Fang Xiaojiu withstand the combined attack of these four?
Just as it seemed to her Fang Xiaojiu was about to become minced meat, however, she saw him reveal a cold smirk and push his hands against each other in a circular motion. Two lights—one gold, one black—appeared in his hands, and a force was released that was so powerful she couldn't even look straight at it. Chu Ci had no choice but to shut her eyes, unable to look while pained cries echoed in her ears.
When she opened her eyes mere seconds later, the red-clothed Yin Servant was twitching on the ground dozens of feet away. As for the other three, they'd fallen over a pile of snow thirty feet away with blood splattered all over the area as well as a few broken blue plates and twisted iron chains—the spirit weapons used by these Yin Servants.
That hateful Fang Xiaojiu stood in front of her with his arms folded across his chest, his eyes gazing at her with a peculiar expression.
"Wha… what are you going to do?" Chu Ci fearfully asked. Fang Xing's terrifying acts had sent her into a daze.
"You've been kidnapped." Fang Xing laughed before releasing the Immortal's Snare and using it to tie Chu Ci up tight.
"Vile… thief! How… how dare you kid— kidnap the princess!" The wounded-but-still-alive Yin Servants were all thoroughly surprised. Kidnaping the princess? Had this vile thief eaten the heart of a bear and the guts of a leopard?