Unaware of everything that was happening outside, Fang Xing could only feel his body enclosed within a space of cramped darkness.
It was fortunate that—despite the Python Toad being covered in toxins on the outside—its inner parts were completely toxin-free. The only exception was the toad's toxin gland attached at the top of its upper jaw that it used to release the green fume, yet Fang Xing happened to be right at the entrance of its throat and was unaffected. Furthermore, in order for the toad to use its suction skill, it first had to release all of the fumes in advance, which was exactly what had happened; even if the gland were to be damaged now, the small amount of fumes that remained within it would not be lethal.
The only thing the toad could do now was to rely on its own instincts and squirm its esophagus in an attempt to swallow Fang Xing into its stomach.
As the pressure surrounding Fang Xing increased, he began to grow impatient. While still holding tightly onto the dagger that was nailed into the toad's throat with his right hand, with great effort and pain he then moved his broken left arm towards the storage ring in his hair.
"Nine Snakes' Sword, out!" With an agonized scream and what little physical strength he had remaining, Fang Xing commanded the golden sword for a disorderly attack on everything within reach.
In the world outside, Hou Qing was visibly in an appalling state, as he had put his life on the line for this tiny chance of completing the mission against the maddened toad.
By consuming the secondary Demon Pellet, his Qi had been forcibly filled to its maximum, but it was still only one chance in a thousand for success since the toad had gone crazy. Throwing everything he had at the toad, he stood atop his Flying Sword while flying from one side to the other. To the toad, however, Hou Qing was like a vicious bee that would continuously send sharp jabs at its weakest points.
At this time, the toad seemed to have lost all of its rationality and began to simply run into anything and everything, even completely ignoring some of the attacks from Hou Qing while broken trees and rock shards could be seen flying in all directions within the entirety of the forest. Even in its maddened rampage, the toad still managed to inflict significant damage on Hou Qing: one of his shoulders was pierced by its tongue, his left leg had been splashed by toxic liquid, and his chest had received a savage headbutt that had broken at least three rib bones.
Most importantly, Hou Qing's remaining Qi was slowly being used up completely.
Of course, despite Hou Qing's current state, his own accomplishments were also rather evident: one of the toad's eyes had been stabbed blind, and its belly—where the tough scaled armor was absent—had been almost completely slit open from Hou Qing's repeated cuts with the Flying Sword, some of its inner intestines made to drag along on the ground.
The toad gave a sudden leap out of nowhere. All four of its limbs straightening as a shimmering golden light could be seen from the inside of its mouth. Exhausted, Hou Qing watched on in horror.
'Even in such a state, the toad still has a special ability it hasn't used?' Unable to comprehend it, Hou Qing fled as he dragged his crippled left leg by forcibly activating his Qi.
With only a few steps, the toad had taken a heavy fall back down to the ground, its mouth half open and its body laid flat. After a few small twitches passed, it stopped moving altogether.
"It's… dead?" Hou Qing exclaimed in excitement, immediately pausing in his footsteps. "I… killed a fourth-tier Python Toad all by myself?" Even someone like Hou Qing could not help but feel a sense of accomplishment at this sight; killing something of a higher tier than yourself, by yourself, would be considered a great achievement within the entire sect. Although there might be numerous disciples within the sect that could easily kill a fourth-tier Python Toad, there would not be many who could do so while being third tier themselves.
"Even the gods are on my side at such moments of life and death! When I, Hou Qing, become an inner court disciple, I shall offer the heavens my appreciation!" Hou Qing took a few deep breaths as he looked up towards the heavens. Then, he moved towards the toad to harvest its corpse.
At this moment, the toad's body jerked on the ground, its mouth opening slightly as its fishy intestines, mincemeat, and dirty blood rushed out into the open. Within the mess were some undigested animals and prey, and the most significant of them all was the body of a child—Fang Xing—crouched in stillness. There were no signs of life, as though the child had been dead for quite some time.
Seeing this, Hou Qing laughed coldly as he thought to himself, 'No matter how sly and calculating you were, you've still ended up being a toad's meal.'
As Hou Qing dragged his broken leg for a closer look, however, he suddenly remembered something. 'The toad went on a crazy rampage after it had swallowed the kid… could it have been him?' Inside his mind, Hou Qing was unwilling to admit to the possibility that it may have actually been someone else to deliver the critical blow to the Python Toad, yet he was still level-headed and continued to analyze everything. 'He might look like he's dead, but… it's him. I'd best be careful….'
Using the last of his remaining Qi, Hou Qing ordered his Flying Sword towards the motionless boy.
Just as the sword closed in, the seemingly dead Fang Xing suddenly flipped and sat up laughing. "Aren't you smart? You don't fall for things easily, do you?"
As Fang Xing spoke, a golden sword flew out behind him as all five of his fingers stretched outward. The sword looked as though it had been lit by flames of gold while nine small snakes danced excitedly around it: an odd sight. As the golden sword pushed Hou Qing's own sword away, Fang Xing took the opportunity for a wild dash in the opposite direction.
"Eh?" Fang Xing had only dashed some ten yards away before he suddenly turned around, as though recalling something.
Hou Qing was about to go for a second attack since his first attack had been blocked before he was slightly startled. Having Fang Xing stop and turn around was also beyond his expectations.
Especially now that Fang Xing looked almost too excited.
SWISH
Without a single word, it was Hou Qing's turn to run.
Fang Xing laughed at the top of his lungs and chased behind. "Looks like you've used up all of your Qi! Serves you right for falling into the hands of me, your grandfather!"
In fact, the moment the two swords made contact, both Hou Qing and Fang Xing had realized the same problem: after the life and death struggle with the toad, Hou Qing no longer had much Qi left. This was the moment when Fang Xing became overwhelmed with excitement and turned to face Hou Qing, who took off and started to flee instead.
It did not take long for Fang Xing to catch up to Hou Qing, especially since Fang Xing's wound was his left arm whereas Hou Qing's was his left leg. Furthermore, although Fang Xing might appear to be in rags and had barely survived a hard-fought battle, he had not fought the toad directly and his Qi had been almost completely preserved. Hou Qing, on the other hand, had been fighting the toad head-on; not only were his Qi reserves greatly spent, but he also had a body full of wounds and injuries.
To a cultivator, Qi is strength. Without Qi, they were no different from an ordinary person.
SWOOSH
When Fang Xing was only ten yards behind Hou Qing, he suddenly activated the [Nine Snakes' Sword].
"Heh heh, Shixiong Hou, I still have to thank you for that Demon Pellet, by the way."
The only thought remaining in Hou Qing's mind was to run away as soon as possible. There was no way he would stop… until he heard what Fang Xing had said. Hou Qing's expression filled with disbelief as he recalled having seen the weird golden sword somewhere else once before.
"It's YOU!" As though an invisible rage had burned away all of his rationality, Hou Qing stopped and turned. "It was you… who took my Demon Pellet?" Hou Qing's eyes were burning in anger, and his face was twisted in an impossible expression with his hairs almost standing on end.
"That's right! It was none other than me, your grandfather! Gotta say, though, that Demon Pellet sure was something! I broke through into the peak of tier two with just a single day!" Fang Xing had also stopped as he smiled at Hou Qing. Fang Xing then took out his [Mask of Wanluo] before placing it over his face and—without much effort—he transformed himself into the very bandit Hou Qing had longed to take revenge on.
"I can't believe— it's actually you. You were the one that made me lose my Demon Pellet. You, you were the one that forced me to accept this bullsh*t of a Duty Talisman! And you! You messed up my plan, killed my companions, destroyed my chance of completing this mission…." Hou Qing was gritting his teeth so hard that the noise could be clearly heard. The heat of his fury was almost as though it would melt everything in its path.
"Uh-huh. That's me. Now, let's add one more thing to your list: I'll be the one to take your life!" Fang Xing chuckled before relaxing his facial muscles. The golden sword shone ever brighter, as though it was eager to take on some fresh blood.
This was the moment where Hou Qing had come back to his senses. His current top priority should be to find a way of escape, and the boy had only revealed himself because he was afraid that Hou Qing would get away. Unfortunately, it was already too late; the second Hou Qing had stopped, he could no longer get away from Fang Xing.
"What else? Shall we chat a bit more?" Fang Xing suspiciously asked as he slowed down his sword.
Hou Qing laughed coldly. "Why not? Didn't you say you'll make sure I know how to spell 'pleasure'?" Hou Qing had silently retrieved a spirit pellet and sandwiched it between his fingers. The pellet was called the Ignition Pellet. Once consumed, it would burn away and reduce Hou Qing's cultivation level for good—back down to the second tier—in order to give him full strength and Qi in the time equivalent to one burn of an incense[1]. Even with such a short time frame given to him, Hou Qing had decided to gamble on his chances of killing this despicable child.
Thus, with the same method Fang Xing had used to buy himself time, Hou Qing tried to do the same.
"You've got a good point. It definitely wouldn't be very pleasurable if I were to kill you so easily!" Fang Xing nodded his head in agreement. Slowly, he walked closer towards Hou Qing with a mocking smile on his face.
Hou Qing stood quietly. He would wait for Fang Xing to come closer before striking at him with his sword, giving him time to swallow the pellet since Fang Xing would then need to block the attack. With such a small amount of Qi, Hou Qing could only rely on an extremely close range to unleash enough power that would require Fang Xing to respond.
What Hou Qing had miscalculated, however, was that as Fang Xing appeared to take a step closer towards him, he gave Hou Qing a mysterious smile.
Within a blink of an eye, the [Nine Snakes' Sword] emitted its golden ray in a splendid fashion and raced directly towards Hou Qing.
NOTES
[1]one burn of an incense: approximately 15 minutes.