Like this, the journey was loud and bumpy, but at least the two continued to make progress on their way to the area surrounding the Beast Exhausting Range, and more cultivators could be seen as they got closer as well. Some traveled on spirit vessels, others were mounted on spirit beasts, some were flying on their clouds, and some Spirit Stage cultivators even rode horses or wielded their Flying Swords. Some people were alone, some had formed small groups, but all of them were making their way to the Beast Exhausting Range.
Of course, not all of these cultivators had received the news about the grand opportunity given out by the Spirit Mountain Temple; most of them had simply noticed something strange was happening at the Beast Exhausting Range and wanted to find out why. Others had heard bits and pieces from other sects and clans and so had decided to come test their luck.
These kinds of people would only increase in number as time went on. It was still early right now, so those who arrived had predominantly been cultivators who'd lived closed by, giving them a natural advantage.
At midnight of the third day, the Purple-Thunder Carriage finally arrived close to the Beast Exhausting Range. They were already able to see a nonstop flickering shine at the far end of the sky and the air was abundant with Qi. Every breath they took carried with it the feeling of Qi filling their lungs and spreading out through their bodies, leaving them extremely surprised. They stood in front of the carriage's window to gaze outside.
"Is that where the grand opportunity is?" Chu Ci sighed with a yearning expression.
Fang Xing looked towards the flickering land. "It probably covers more than three thousand miles…" he replied in astonishment. He'd originally thought the opportunity would be a cave or perhaps a mountain; he hadn't even considered that an entire area would be covered by that shine. If it already seemed so incredibly vast at a distance, who knew just how large it would be once they were up close? And if the area covered by the shine marked where the grand opportunity was taking place, this mysterious coffin's opportunity took up as much land as a city housing a million residents.
Just as the pair was sighing in amazement, the Purple-Thunder Carriage began to shake. The wind-property formation lots its ability to stay airborne,
and although they continued forward for a few hundred or so feet thanks to inertia, the carriage's front inevitably tilted downward and it began to fall. Both Fang Xing and Princess Chu Ci were surprised by this sudden change, Chu Ci would have even banged her head against the wall if Fang Xing hadn't caught her to prevent it.
"Sh*t, the Qi here has the power to restrict flying," Fang Xing yelled out. "Flying spirit tools can't be used here; we'll have to go down…." As he spoke and picked up Chu Ci, a pair of golden wings—seemingly composed of hundreds of Flying Swords moving at once—appeared on his back. The carriage was punctured into pieces in mere moments before Fang Xing borrowed the momentum of the carriage and the power of his golden wings to fly into the air.
Only now did Fang Xing understand: the shine covering the land where the mysterious coffin had landed was an extremely powerful restriction. Since such abundant Qi could be felt here, it also meant they'd entered the area where the restriction was active. He couldn't see through the restrictions here even with the aid of his Book of Revelation, causing him to be caught off guard.
Inside this restriction, spirit tools that allowed flight couldn't be used. Since the Hundred and Eight Thousand Swords had been formed from a secret skill of the Great Peng Clan, they were almost considered genuine wings and he was able to use them to fly. These kinds of wings materialized from Qi used up Qi very quickly, however, so he couldn't keep them continuously active.
"Soaring Cloud!" Fang Xing growled out low while pointing forward. A black cloud quickly tried to form in front of him, but there seemed to be an invisible force trying to interrupt him and the cloud that would normally appear so easily couldn't hold its shape today. Understanding dawned on Fang Xing and he gave up the idea of forming the cloud, instead borrowing the power of the two golden wings on his back to fly downwards with Chu Ci still in his grasp.
"AHHHHHH!"
Chu Ci was so frightened throughout the process she was pale with terror and couldn't stop screaming, while Fang Xing himself couldn't only try to ignore it.
BOOM….
As Fang Xing landed, a large moss-covered stone beneath his feet was smashed into pieces, yet Chu Ci was still loudly screaming and causing his
his eardrums to shake.
"AHHHHHH!"
"We've already landed; what the hell are you screaming about?"
Only then did Chu Ci carefully pull her head out from under Fang Xing's arm. She looked around before hurriedly jumping off and giving Fang Xing's arm a hard pinch. "Why did you fly down so fast?" she angrily yelled.
Fang Xing struck her head with his knuckles. "Stupid bi*ch, how dare you pinch me?"
Chu Ci clenched her teeth. Although she wanted to fight him, she didn't dare to do so and could only hatefully stomp her feet. "I won't speak with you anymore! I'm going to find my royal big brother and my grand elder!" With that, she took off and disappeared into the woods.
Fang Xing sighed before seating himself on an old tree stump. It didn't take long before Chu Ci's screaming voice could be heard and she could be seen running back towards him at a speed that was even faster than when she'd left. She was being chased by a group of wild boars even larger than bulls, and she was so frightened she was on the verge of tears. The only reason she'd been able to temporarily protect herself was an umbrelllike spirit tool of some kind in her hand.
Chu Ci ran towards Fang Xing without concern for anything else, her entire face filled with tears. "Help me… hurry and help me…."
"Siiiiigh…." Fang Xing rose up from his seat with a large black flag in his hand. With a wave, a terrifying aura spread out, instantly leaving the pack of wild boars shaken and quivering on the ground, unwilling to move. There were a countless number of powerful beast spirit seals on the Flag of Ten Thousand spirits, and any spirit beast that hadn't manifested its human form yet wouldn't be able to resist at all once the flag's aura was released.
"You are a cultivator at the peak of Spirit Stage; how the hell can you be scared of a bunch of eighth-tier wild boar beasts?" Fang Xing scolded Princess Chu Ci while she hid behind him. He'd realized well in advance that this area was dangerous with strange beasts and plants, and he also knew that with Chu Ci's temperament—as a frail princess who needed someone to specially serve her even just for drinking tea—she certainly wouldn't wander off too far on her own. He knew she'd return in the end, but he really
he really didn't expect her to be back so soon….
And the worst of it all was she'd only been chased by a group of eighth-tier wild boar beasts….
Chu Ci was still terrified and looked at the group of wild boar beasts lying on the ground. "They're… they're so intimidating…."
"Why do people like you even cultivate?" Fang Xing sighed. "If you don't have the guts, don't run off on your own. I checked when we were landing; the entire area around here is the same, filled with dangerous beasts and plants, as well as numerous demons, zombies and ghosts…. Furthermore, the geography of this place is very complicated. You'll never get out of here running off like that, and you might just end up becoming a zombie's bride if you're not careful. If that happens, don't say I didn't warn you…."
Chu Ci felt even more scared when she heard this and carefully asked, "Then what do we do?"
"When we were descending, I saw some people about three to four hundred miles away. That must be where the city is located, and it's not small either. Let's go to the city first to seek out some information!"
Chu Ci quickly nodded but then confusedly asked, "How do we get there?" In truth, she'd started regretting her decision to run off after only getting some hundred feet away. This damned place was filled with dangerous swamps and strange plants, and her shoes were covered in mud after only a few steps. She was so angry at Fang Xing she didn't want to turn around and see him again, and she soon ended up coming across a few small boars trying to find food. They were so cute she couldn't help but to pat one of them, only for some adult boars to show up just as she did so….
"Didn't you bring over some mounts?" Fang Xing asked while pointing towards the group of wild boars on the ground. He actually felt Chu Ci had done something useful.
"We're… going to ride them?" Chu Ci was completely horrified by the prospect. She gripped tightly onto Fang Xing's arm and yelled, "I won't ride it even if you kill me!"
"That's fine. You can just stay here if you won't ride it!" Fang Xing didn't bother trying to accommodate her and gave her only two options to pick from.
There was no other choice. After hesitating for around a burn of a burn of an incense, Chu Ci finally accepted, but she didn't dare to ride a wild boar on her own so she was forced to ride with Fang Xing on the largest alpha boar. The alpha was nearly ten feet tall—almost the size of two bulls—with twinkling pesized eyes, two tusks growing from its mouth like iron blades, and needle-like hairs on its back. It was terrifying to the extreme, and Fang Xing even had to take a few fox fur coats from the destroyed Purple-Thunder Carriage and layer them on the boar's back so it could be mounted.
"Hehe, let's go!" Fang Xing let out a loud command and this wild boar suddenly dashed forward, kicking up the black mud like smoke. Fang Xing sat astride the boar on its back, while Princess Chu Ci rather impressively sat sidesaddle in front of him.
With Fang Xing and this large wild boar, Chu Ci no longer felt threatened by these dangerous woods—no matter whether it was a beast or a ghost, a simple wave of Fang Xing's flag would defeat it every time. As her fear diminished, she actually began to have fun and enjoy herself. She'd grown up within the royal courts, after all, so when would she have found the chance to ride wild boars or explore secret forests? Something like this was a completely fresh and new experience for her.
They continued like this for a good five hours until they came across a paved path in front of them with a giant city visible ahead. The walls were a bit worn, but its size was enormous, making it look like a giant ancient beast.
Quite a number of people were on the same path as them by now, most of them cultivators. Fang Xing steered the boar towards an old man closest to him and asked for information about this city and the Beast Exhausting Range. This old man was only Spirit Stage tier six and was thoroughly terrified by the eighth-tier wild boar king, so he answered everything he knew without any falsehood.
"Oh? Such a good place actually exists? Perfect for me to feed my little Old Peng…." After listening to the old man's words, Fang Xing considered the situation before handing a supreme-quality Spirit Stone to the man and slapping the wild boar's back. Smoke rose up as the boar rushed towards the City of Appointed General, a