When the black-robed old Daoist returned in embarrassment, the other two Golden Cores inside the forest gathered around him with worried expressions. "Fellow Daoist Hei Feng, it seems trying to borrow the path from that old monster Jing Guang isn't going to work…." All three were Golden Core State cultivators, a grand existence looked up to as beings who could call the wind and rain as they pleased. Now that they were near this Mysterious Domain, however, they were being cursed at by the old monster Jing Guang as though they were misbehaving grandsons, causing anger to settle into their features.
Old Daoist Hei Feng showed a bitter smile before shaking his head. "You all heard it, then; the old monster Jing Guang is not allowing anyone inside…."
"Dammit, this bullying is inexcusable!" a red-browed old Daoist with the shortest temper began to curse. "How about the three of us go and kill him together then take over the formation pivot!"
"If the three of us were able combine our strength to beat him, why would we still all the way over here worrying about it?" a blue-robed elderly man sighed. "That old monster Jing Guang is a powerful cultivator of the western deserts in the late-Golden Core Stage. In the past few hundred years, rarely anyone in the western deserts has managed to be his match, and his temperament is also extremely violent and irritable. In his rage, he once completely annihilated a small country; let alone the three of us, we wouldn't be able to beat him even if there were three more. Didn't you see how miserably those dozen or so cultivators died yesterday?"
All three Daoists became quiet at this. No matter how anxious they were, they were still helpless in the end. In the realm of cultivators, battle prowess was respected the most, and if someone's fist was not as strong as another's, whatever they said would be in vain. These three Golden Core Stage grand elders could only look at each other without any possible plans.
At that moment, an argument broke out not too far away….
"The grand elder of our Taixuan Sect is not someone you can see just because you say you want to! If you don't leave right now, don't blame me for being ruthless with my sword!"
"Damn your uncle, I've already shown you enough face and said plenty of flattering words. Are you asking me to beat you up good?"
"How dare you! Do you think we Taixuan Sect are so easy to bully?"
"What's going on?" the black-robed Daoist yelled in agitation. He'd been quite upset already, and his flames of anger immediately began to grow when he overheard all of this.
The one who'd started the shouting match was a white-robed disciple from the Taixuan Sect. He'd already activated his Flying Sword, and when he heard his grand elder's question, he quickly turned around and pointed towards a youth. "Elder, this kid is demanding to see you…."
When the black-robed Daoist focused his gaze, he saw the person in question was a boy in a grey robe with a young, pretty girl behind him. The boy's appearance wasn't familiar to him and he was unsure where he came from, but just before he could ask, the boy suddenly jumped up and waved at him. "Old man— I mean, Esteemed Senior! Here, here! I've got a good idea for you! Do you want to cooperate with me?"
'A kid? What could he possibly cooperate with me on?' the black-robed Daoist thought to himself, filled with questions.
As for the blue-robed Daoist, although he was initially surprised, he soon began to look over Fang Xing with a speculative eye. Seeing how Fang Xing was quite young yet already in the early portion of Foundation Stage, he judged this youth's innate talent couldn't be too bad so. He didn't view him as lightly as the black-robed elder did and instead cupped his hands towards the youth while suggesting, "Perhaps this little friend here does have a good plan? Why not let him speak?"
Fang Xing smiled with pride before sending a death glare at the white-robed disciple who'd tried to stop him. "What are you waiting for? Get out of my way!"
The white-robed disciple was upset, but when his own grand elder also didn't say anything against it, he had no choice but to move aside.
The red-browed Daoist let out a cold snort; when he saw this youth dressed like a beggar, he could only feel disdain. "You want to work with us on something, boy?"
After walking in front of the three Golden Cores and cupping his hands to show respect, Fang Xing smirked and lowered his voice, "It's something big, of course. If you three esteemed seniors are willing to cooperate with me, I have a method to help send all your disciples into the Mysterious Domain…."
These words caused the expressions of all three Golden Cores to change. They looked on towards Fang Xing with hesitation, but Fang Xing just coldly laughed and confidently folded his arms across his chest.
"A Foundation Stage kid can help us send disciples into the Mysterious Domain? Are you trying to play with us?" the red-browed Daoist asked, filled with deep mistrust.
Fang Xing disdainfully rolled his eyes at the red-browed Daoist. "You think you're that handsome? I've got such a pretty girl here with me that I'm not playing with yet, so why would I ever want to play with you?"
"You…" Such words angered the red-browed Daoist. He was already hundreds of years old and his physical appearance was so aged his wrinkled skin was like the dry peelings of a mandarin orange and his hair was nearly all gone. It was a given he wasn't anywhere near as pretty as the little maid behind the youth, but he was still in the Golden Core Stage; that the brat had even dared to compare him with the girl left him so angry he began to seethe.
"Enough. Fellow Daoist Chi Mei, why not listen to what this little friend might have to say?" Hei Feng—who'd also noticed how unique this youth was—suggested with a deep tone, stopping the easily-irritated Chi Mei. Although the three of them had only recently formed the golden core and would be considered weaklings compared to other Golden Core Stage cultivators, they were still as insurmountable as those thousand-year-old freaks when it came to ordinary cultivators. When an ordinary cultivator saw them, they'd most likely be nervous and unable to speak clearly, yet this youth was able to talk and laugh as he please, even throwing out a rebuttal—this was definitely meaningful.
"Little friend, do you really have a method to help us enter the Mysterious Domain?" the blue-robed Daoist asked with seriousness and even a hint of anticipation.
Fang Xing sat on top of a large moss-covered stone and waved to those three Golden Core Stage cultivators. "Come closer…." After a short moment of hesitation, all three elders drew their faces in closer to Fang Xing, who smirked and began to reveal his grand scheme.
"What?" the red-browed Daoist asked in disbelief after Fang Xing had finished. "Boy, are you sure you're not crazy?"
The black-robed Daoist was also full of shock. "That is too risky! That is the old monster Jing Guang from the western deserts, whose cultivation level is even approaching full mastery of the golden core. His existence is one who can see everything; this plan of yours… is just… too risky!"
Fang Xing sneered while looking at the three Golden Cores from the corner of his eye. "Are you planning on just waiting here forever? If you don't risk anything, you'll never be able to get inside!"
The black-robed Daoist and red-browed Daoist both became quiet. The two of them were hesitant and uncertain how to answer; after a short period of silence, it was the blue-robed Daoist who showed a serious expression and asked, "Little friend, do you really have such battle prowess?"
Fang Xing coldly smirked before standing and waving towards the white-robed disciple from earlier. The disciple was in mid Foundation Stage and around forty years old, with a somewhat proud disposition. He'd felt rather annoyed at being cursed at by Fang Xing earlier and had been watching the entire time, but just as he was trying to guess what this little bastard was speaking to his grand elder about, the boy suddenly waved at him and caught him off guard.
"How strong is he?" Fang Xing asked while pointing towards the white-robed disciple.
The black-robed Daoist Hei Feng replied after a short moment, "This child is the head disciple of my Taixuan Sect. He experienced a stroke of fortune when he was young and was able to form his foundation at twenty-five years old, then he reached the peak of early Foundation Stage by thirty-two. He has now stepped into mid Foundation Stage and can be considered a great talent tha—"
Fang Xing began to move before Hei Feng had even finished, his Foundation Stage power activating to cause a pair of golden wings to appear on his back. He shot out towards that white-robed disciple like a bolt of lightning before opening up his palm and shoving it right towards the disciple's face. The white-robed disciple was caught by surprise, but just as he was about to reflexively take out his sword, Fang Xing reached down to catch his wrist and give a backwards tug.
Woosh….
One step forward, one step back. Fang Xing returned to his original location, but the white-robed disciple's wrist was in his grip. The disciple became angry and let out a low growl, but before he could retaliate, Fang Xing lightly pushed his palm up against the top of the disciple's head. "Esteemed Seniors, do you think I can do it now?" Fang Xing chuckled while glancing back at the three Golden Core Stage grand elders.
All three Golden Cores were surprised and looked at Fang Xing in disbelief that a youth in early Foundation Stage was able to suppress an elite cultivator in mid Foundation Stage. Although said youth had used a surprise attack, this was still enough to shock the three Golden Core grand elders. They'd all been in Foundation Stage themselves; they naturally knew what something like this meant.
"Kid, with such battle prowess, you can't be some unknown person. Tell me, which sect or clan do you belong to? Who is your teacher?" the red-browed Daoist asked in a low tone—he no longer took Fang Xing lightly.
Fang Xing didn't try to hide anything at all and answered with a smile, "I am a disciple of Snowy Mountain. I was just a bit late and couldn't catch up to them…."
"The disciples of Snowy Mountain already entered the Mysterious Domain; why would any still be here? Besides, I've heard of the five Foundation Stage elites from the Snowy Mountain, but there wasn't anyone as powerful as you…." The black-robed Hei Feng exchanged looks with the red-browed Chi Mei. They were both of the impression Fang Xing was intentionally trying to hide his identity, but they didn't dwell on it any further and one of them spoke up after a moment of hesitation. "Your battle prowess will make it more possible, but we still have a question: how will you guarantee you won't take back your word after we help you?"
Fang Xing pointed at Chu Ci. "Protect this girl for me. Once I've succeeded, help me send her inside untouched!"
The three Golden Cores all looked at each other before nodding in agreement. It was at this moment, however, that Chu Ci suddenly spoke up, "I am not waiting here! I want to be with you!"
Fang Xing smirked. "This is too dangerous. You're too slow and stupid; you'll only be a burden to me!"
Chu Ci was indignant, but she wasn't someone who enjoyed dwelling on things. After a short moment, she quietly took out a white-jade umbrella from her storage sack. "This is the Umbrella of Tenra White Jade, a protective Ancient tool given to me by my grand elder. You take it…." As she spoke, something suddenly floated to her mind, leaving her momentarily in a daze before she showed a faint smile.
Fang Xing immediately grabbed the umbrella out of her hand and flipped it around to study it before looking back at her. "What the hell are you smiling at?"
"I'm not telling you!"
As it so happened, her grand elder and royal big brother had given her this Ancient tool because of how much she'd pestered and begged them for something after her first run-in with Fang Xing. She'd originally intended to use it against Fang Xing; who would've ever thought she'd be taking it out to lend it to him instead? It could be said the world constantly changed and nothing was predictable, and this small irony gave birth to an indescribable feeling.
"It's almost sunrise, little friend. It's time to prepare…."
A streak of white light began to rise from the eastern sky, announcing the approaching daybreak amidst the Golden Cores' reminder.