525 - 535

Chapter 525 Bad Birdy

"H-hey! Don't look at me like this…" Drakos muttered as be backed to the wall, all of the gazes directed at him. "I might have said some stuff but that is not the issue for now! We need to quickly save her!"

He tried to run away but Xuefeng blocked his way. Drakos finally crossed the line.

"How many times do you have to make the same mistake?! Until one of us dies?! When will you learn to shut up?! You are no longer as strong as you used to!" Xuefeng shouted angrily, his fingers tightened around the hilt of his sword. "What's more, you didn't even tell us about it!"

This was the first time Xuefeng was this mad, wanting to cut Drakos into hundreds of pieces.

"I didn't think he would—" Drakos tried to explain but Nuwa didn't let him, suddenly appearing in front of him and gripping him by the neck.

"That's the case! You never think! Because of you my daughter is in danger!" Nuwa shouted, her hair flying in all direction. "If anything happens to her, I will kill you!"

Thud.

She threw Drakos to the ground without care, just as angry as Xuefeng.

"And this idiot!" Nuwa continued, not done venting. "She was petting a forty meters tall beast as if it was her pet! We are in a dangerous realm where everything can kill you! How careless can she be?!"

"It's our fault too. We all know how she is yet we didn't protect her," Tianshi pointed out. "We can't blame everything on them. We are a team."

"No, it's all my fault. I promised I will take care of her yet I didn't," Xuefeng took the blame and walked towards the exit, not wasting time anymore. "Let's go. We are going to save her."

Everyone else followed him without hesitation aside from Drakos who called out confused, "Are you all going to just leave and walk into that bird's trap? What about a plan? Even if we reach the mountain, we are not going to win."

"We will win. There is no other option. I will not leave Yiren," Xuefeng said without turning around, spreading his wings as he left the groove.

"She cannot die."

———

Hmm…

Yiren woke up with a heavy headache, welcomed by a loud sound of wind. She tried to open her eyes and saw clouds, looking extra soft and fluffy.

'Am I in the sky?' she wondered and then recalled what just happened.

She fell from the groove and something hit her, knocking her out.

'Ah, I'm such a dummy… I should have stayed with the rest…'

Checking out her surroundings, Yiren realized she couldn't move, her body pinned to the scaled like skin underneath her.

"Bobby…?" She questioned confused when a sudden bird head popped out in front of her.

Two sharp eyes gazed at her, observing her movements before the red beak opened and she heard the beast talk to her in a squeaky voice.

"It seems like you woke up already. Don't move or you will get hurt. We will land soon."

"Okay!" Yiren

replied with a nod, not really scared which made the beast freeze and hover in the sky.

"You are not scared of me?"

"Why would I be? You don't plan to hurt me, right? I can sense you have a good heart," Yiren replied softly, feeling the beasts' intentions. "Do you know where are my friends? They will be worried if I don't return fast."

She already expected the scolding coming for Xuefeng and her mom for being a dummy but she couldn't avoid it.

The beast stared at her for a moment but it didn't reply, diving down instead.

Thud!

Bobby got thrown down to the side while she got grabbed firmly in the claws and lifted up in front of the beast's face. She finally got a better look at the bird and she couldn't help but find it beautiful, having a set colorful feathers, making it look like one big flame.

"Whoa… Your feathers are so shiny… I wish I could pet you…" Yiren muttered with her eyes brightened. "I wonder how soft you are…"

Only afterward did she realize what she was saying. "Ehem, I guess I shouldn't be petting anyone."

"You are weird," the bird commented. "Anyone sane would be screaming right now."

"There is no reason to. I know I'm safe, hehe," Yiren said with a giggle.

"How come?"

"Even now you are holding me gently. If not, I would be in real pain now," Yiren explained as she looked around and suddenly gasped at the view. "Ah! Look at all those trees! So pretty…"

"Can you put me down? I want to see from the edge," Yiren added excitedly and surprisingly, the bird placed her down. She immediately ran towards the edge of the nest and leaned over to see.

The whole Hidden Realm painted itself in front of her, jungle spanning in all directions. Yiren realized the realm wasn't as big as she thought as she could see the horizon but it was definitely much bigger than her home.

"Where are we?" she asked curiously. "It so high in the sky."

The clouds were just a few tens of meters above them, flying closely.

"We are in my nest at the peak of the mountain," the bird replied and ignored her, pinning the bleeding Bobby to the ground.

With one move of its massive beak, the beast ripped Bobby's neck which caused Yiren to scream.

"Ah!!! What are you doing to Bobby! Don't kill him!"

The beast shuddered at her voice, dropping Bobby's head to the ground.

Thud!

The ground shook under the weight of the long neck, almost knocking her but she supported herself this time, not making the same mistake twice. Unfortunately, she was too late.

"Don't scream. You made me drop my prey," the beast warned but Yiren was far from happy.

"You killed Bobby!"

"Of course I did. I need to eat something after all," the beast replied as if it was obvious and took a bite, cutting a big chunk of meat from Bobby's neck.

Yiren turned around, unable to handle the sight. "I can't watch it!"

"Have you never eaten meat before? It's good. You should try it," the beast proposed taking another bite, munching happily.

"I will only eat plants, thank you!" Yiren yelled unhappily.

No one would ever force her to eat anything else other than plants. The only meat she ate was that of a fish as they had an abundance of it.

Yiren was forced to cover her ears as well to mute the munching sounds. Now that she took a closer look, she realized the whole place was filled with bones of different sizes, making her disgusted.

A strong will to leave this place filled her mind. She wanted to go back to Xuefeng, her mom, and her sisters. Uncontrollably, she turned around and ordered determined, "Bring me back!"

The bird stopped eating, clearly displeased with Yiren's act.

"I will have to decline. I need you to get my revenge on—"

Before he even finished, Yiren's eyes shone and she repeated, this time louder, "I said bring me back!"

The red bird shivered, taking a step back. There was a vivid moment of fear in the bird's eyes.

"You took me here against my will! You even killed Bobby! You are a bad birdy!" Yiren scolded.

"I am not—" The bird tried to defend but it ended up getting cut off again. "You are a bad birdy!"

This time it admitted to Yiren's words, looking down with guilt, "I am a bad birdy…"

"You will take me back to my friends," Yiren commanded.

"Y-yes…"

Just as the bird was ready to take her back, a mature voice came from the distance, wondering out loud.

"To think that a little girl is able to control an adult Phoenix… Interesting."

Chapter 526 Yoinked

"Who are you?"

No matter where Yiren looked, she didn't see or sense anyone else in the nest. The person had to be either invisible or much powerful than her.

"I'm a nobody…" the same voice replied. "Maybe a few thousand years ago I was someone but I guess that person has been forgotten for ages."

Yiren realized it was a man based on his voice and called out unhappily, "Sir, do you know it's rude to talk to someone without showing your face?"

She wasn't particularly scared. If someone tried to kill her, she would order birdy to defend her. Thanks to her new ability, her bloodline power exploded, improving her connection with nature, including all beasts and animals.

The man was silent for a moment before finally announcing, "I'm not going to show myself just cause—"

Unfortunately, he didn't know who he was up against.

Yiren cut him off mid-sentence and pouted, "Humph, then I'm not talking to you. Come birdy, let's go play."

The Phoenix watched her counter the man in disbelief and advised, "Ehem, I think you shouldn't talk to him like this. He is quite explosive at times."

Boom!

Just as he said it, an explosion blasted the ground fifty meters away from her, sending big rocks in the sky and a black-robed figure flew to the sky.

"How dare you talk to me like this?! I'm the Time God! The Immortal that outlived many generations, thousands of Legends, and hundreds of Clans. No one lived longer than me!"

The Phoenix covered his beak with the wing and whispered, "That's what I was talking about… He is obsessed with living forever. What a weirdo. I doubt he has many years left."

"I CAN HEAR YOU!" the man yelled, sending a massive wave of Qi their way but the Phoenix just waved with his wing, dispersing it completely.

"Don't try it with me again. You can't defeat me."

Seeing the exchange, Yiren's eyes brightened and she skipped towards the Phoenix, hugging its leg.

"Did this man try to hurt you?" she asked with care.

"Oh, many times. I told you, he is obsessed with immortality. He found me and wanted to take my blood, thinking he can rebirth his body with it. Too bad, he can't even defeat me," the Phoenix answered eagerly, looking like he didn't like the man one bit.

"That's so mean!" Yiren exclaimed. "How could he try to hurt my beautiful birdy. Why didn't you kill him instead?"

"Not only is he a maniac but also a coward. Whenever I try to attack him, he is hiding under the ground. I'm not a fan of digging in the ground so I'm forced to ignore him."

The Phoenix was clearly annoyed by the man but she finally understood why he was so cocky. The Phoenix just couldn't be bothered to kill him.

"I can still hear you!" the man called out to which both of them replied at the same time, "You were meant to hear it!"

"You are making a great mistake talking like this to the greatest Immortal! Once I achieve my goal, no one will be able to stop me!" the man cried out with his fist up in the air only to scream in fear when the Phoenix's feathers began to flare with flames.

The Phoenix turned out to be only bluffing as he returned back to normal

right after and commented sarcastically, "See? He is such a coward. I don't know how can he still brag so much."

"Yup, I agree," Yiren nodded eagerly and then saw the man's face when his hood dropped once he tried to run away. "Oh! He is an old man too."

The man already had wrinkles and long white hair, the signs of getting old. No wonder he had such an obsession about living forever. His life was reaching its end.

"I'm not old!" The man denied and quickly covered his face. "That's a mask! A mask to cover my identity!"

"So crazy and delusional. I really want to leave this place so I can get away from this maniac," the Phoenix lamented. "Imagine that after he couldn't kill me, he figured out a new plan. He talks about this Elemental Bracelet all the time."

"Oh… Elemental Bracelet?" Yiren feigned ignorance.

She naturally knew about Xuefeng's Elemental Bracelet.

"Yeah, he thinks that once he collects all Elemental Stones, he will achieve immortality. Too bad, he doesn't even have that bracelet. He is just hoping that someone will eventually come to claim the Elemental Stone in his possession before he dies. He even slowed down the time in this Hidden Realm to buy himself as much time as possible," the Phoenix explained casually.

"Hey! Why are you exposing my secrets!"

"Pfft," the Phoenix laughed. "You were the one who bragged about them for heaven knows how many years and it's not like I care about you."

Yiren was the one who showed interest instead. "Whoa! I heard about Elemental Bracelet! To think you have one of its stones!"

"Hehe, so you know how powerful it is! Once I get my hands on it, I will collect all stones one by one and finally achieve immortality! Bahahaha!" the old man burst out laughing only to freeze at Yiren's words.

"Well, you say you have the Elemental Stone but has anyone seen it? I don't believe you have it."

"True, he never showed it to me either. I bet he is lying," the Phoenix added, playing along.

"Of course I have it! Why would I search for the Elemental Bracelet without any Elemental Stones."

"Then show it. We are waiting," Yiren dared. "If you don't show it, we will assume you don't have it. We can't really be bothered with liars."

"Yeah. If you don't show it, I will fill the ground with flames and chase you away. You will be forced to live with beasts in the jungle." The Phoenix joined Yiren's gang. "Your choice."

The old man had no other alternative. The mountain was the only safe place in this Hidden Realm due to the Phoenix existence and he couldn't fly forever as he would eventually ran out of Spirit Qi.

"Okay, okay! I will show you!" The old man finally gave up and reached inside his cloak, pulling out a white circular crystal.

Swoosh!

Wind blew in all directions as the old man spoke in crazy tone, "Behold! This is the one and only, Wind Elemental Stone!"

Yiren gazed at the magical stone and smiled, extending her hand forward.

Ah!!!

The old man screamed as the stone slipped out of his hand, and immediately chased after it. With his eyes fixated on the stone, he didn't realize a giant Phoenix was standing right in front of him.

Bang!

A flaming wing met with the old man, sending him flying while the Elemental Stone landed safely on top of Yiren's hand.

Despite getting hit, the old man recovered quickly and attacked once again. "My Stone! Give it back!"

The Phoenix didn't like the confidence of the old man and waved with its wing, sending a fan of flaming feathers which he ate all without the care of his safety.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

He got blasted into rocky ground, creating a massive groove at the shape of a human.

"So annoying," the Phoenix commented and gazed at Yiren who held the Elemental Stone. "Did you really just take it from him? You are so good!"

"Hehe, thank you. I know someone who would do a lot to have it," Yiren replied with a giggle, already thinking how many kisses should she demand in exchange for the stone.

"Give it back!" The old man cried out as he got out from the hole, his cloak all burned down, exposing a shiny armor underneath. "It's mine!"

This time he didn't attack immediately as Yiren had Phoenix's protection.

Yiren smiled and wondered out loud, "Hmm, let me think… No. It's mine now."

"You don't want to mess with me! Give it back!"

"Still no," Yiren shook her head and kept the stone, pissing the old man even more.

He glared at her angrily and launched himself to the sky, yelling, "You have Phoenix protection but your friends don't! Let's see what you say when I kill them all!"

Yiren's eyes widened and she pleaded, hugging the Phoenix's leg, "Please, can you save my friends?"

"Why would I help the friends of that bastard little dragon?" the Phoenix questioned. "At first I only took you here to force him into fighting me."

"Oh! I will tell him to play with you afterward! He always listens to me. Please, at least let me warn them!"

The Phoenix got interested at her words and grabbed her, placing her on its back.

"Hold tight!"

Chapter 527 First Group Figh

The moment she saw the old man fly out, Yiren immediately panicked. She was acting cocky just now, bravely stealing the Elemental Stone from him but she totally didn't expect him to change his targets so abruptly.

"Please, we have to help them!" Yiren called out, hugging the Phoenix leg but it wasn't even a bit interested.

"Why would I help the friends of that little dragon? I literally kidnapped you to force him into coming here. I want to fight him for what he said to me. I'm sorry."

Despite panicking, Yiren spotted her chance. "Drakos? That old man wants to kill them! How will you fight him if that old man kills him?!"

The Phoenix's eyes widened and it glared at the old man's distant back, cursing, "Fuck! I didn't think about it. The little dragon is mine to kill!"

Yiren didn't want to be grabbed in the claws again so she flew up and sat on the Phoenix's back, suggesting, "Let's go! We don't have time!"

The Phoenix didn't seem to like it but the desire to get its revenge on Drakos was much stronger.

"Hold on tight!"

———

While the Phoenix launched itself to the sky, almost blowing Yiren off its back, Xuefeng's group was already half-way there, rushing towards the mountain without any plan what so ever.

They didn't have time to stop and think, having only one day to reach the mountain.

"We are almost at the third sector! Get ready to drop down into the jungle and fight," Drakos warned and everyone visually tensed up.

Even though the skies were clear of any monsters, they could feel the overwhelming pressure coming from below. Despite it being only the second sector, they already had trouble breathing. Many God Stage Spirit Beast announced their presence this way, marking their territory.

"Tianshi, Lisa, support us from the middle! Wen, Wuying, Drakos, you handle the front-lines! Yi and Shan, back-lines! Nuwa and me, side-lanes! Wu, protect the supports!" Xuefeng shouted orders, seeing the line of trees ahead began to thicken. The deeper they adventured, the denser the jungle.

It wasn't a game anymore. This time someone could easily die if they were careless.

"Our goal is to push through and reach the mountain as soon as possible. Don't focus on killing the beasts. Push them back and move forward! Let's hope we won't be attacked by many."

Just as he finished instructing, they all felt an immense gravity force pull them to the ground, making flying almost impossible.

"Tianshi, shields! Everyone, take Lisa's pills! We are going down!"

Tianshi was already prepared, creating a transparent shield around everyone for an extra layer of protection. She was already sweating, boosting their speed to the maximum for a while already.

Xuefeng popped a few pills prepared by Lisa and others followed

suit, descending all together.

Boom!

Xuefeng's dantian immediately exploded with Qi and his muscles filled with bountiful energy. His Dragon Edge shone brightly, the blue scales taking advantage of the extra Qi, coated with an extra layer of sharpness.

"Good stuff!" Xuefeng complimented, the excess Qi bursting out of his body which made him look like a God descending from heavens.

The whole group looked insane but the only thing he worried about was the coordination between them. This would be the first time they actually fought in an organized formation.

"Watch out! Ten beasts right underneath us! It's a small pack of wolfs!"

Right when they passed the crowns of the trees, Tianshi warned in an alert. Their luck wasn't that good to immediately meet with multiple beasts at once.

"We need to fight! They are faster than us on land!" Wu informed, using their connection channel, and proposed, "I will put my Infinity Blade to use! That will distract them!"

Wu was already prepared, her new Infinity Blade firmly in her hands.

"Nuwa, support her! The rest, attack the leader!" Xuefeng followed up, already finding a target for himself.

A Five meters tall blue wolf in the middle of eating. It was definitely above a God Stage.

Grrrrrrr!

No one wanted to be disturbed while eating and the Leader wasn't happy with all the attackers coming from the sky.

Wu dove down first, using gravity to her advantage.

Bang!

Like a comet, she struck the ground with her sword, spawning thousands of blades all around the area. Few meters long Infinity Blade copies pierced upwards, stabbing all the wolves in their bellies and legs.

Unfortunately, they didn't do much damage, none of them piercing too deeply into their skin. The copies were just much weaker than the actual Infinity Blade.

Wu looked disappointed but at least she achieved one goal of immobilizing the enemies.

AWUUUUUUU!!

The Wolf Leader howled angrily, smashing his body against the blades, breaking them with its massive weight before cutting them with its claws.

Wu shivered, losing massive amounts of Qi just from keeping the blades but she kept the wolves locked firmly.

Thankfully, Xuefeng and the rest were already there to assist.

"NOW!"

All of their attacks landed at the same time, Xuefeng's Dragon Edge slashing straight at the wolf's face.

Cling! Cling! Cling! Cling!

He felt as if he just struck a stone, his Dragon Edge bouncing off with a metallic sound.

They all jumped away only to see the Wolf Leader turn itself into a metal statue, defending against all the attacks with ease.

Crack!

The metal cracked at that moment and exploded, sending the metal fragments all around the place. Tianshi's shields performed well, defending them.

"Wu, release the blades! Everyone, assemble around Wu!" Xuefeng ordered.

The blades were no longer necessary, only disturbing their incoming battle. They couldn't move with blades all around the area.

Just as Wu pulled her sword from the ground, Tianshi and Lisa landed safely behind her with everyone else following suit.

Their formation was finally complete.

Wuying was the main commander when it came to battling while he was the leader of the group. She immediately took over after everyone was grouped, being more experienced in leading.

"We can't kill the leader that fast! Use your Earth Qi to lock him from the rest! Kill the smaller wolves and then focus the leader!" Wuying commanded.

While the wolves glared at them, trying to slowly surround them, they began pumping Earth Qi into the ground, grouping it underneath the Wolf Leader.

"Shan, Yi, engage with me! Xuefeng, Nuwa, lock them down one by one! Start from the right! Wen, Lisa, bombard the rest to distract them!" Wuying explained the fighting plan. "Execute!"

AWUUUU!

The Wolf Leader called out to attack right as they moved but then four thick walls ascended from the ground, closing the leader in the darkness.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Xiao Wen's fireballs constantly exploded right at the wolves' faces, stunning them while Lisa's pills exploded underneath them, focusing them to defend.

Xuefeng's role shifted from engaging to support as he locked down the wolf with Nuwa, making it unable to even blink. It was harder than he thought but Nuwa did most of the job for him.

The three damage dealers worked like a well-oiled machine, cutting the target into pieces before switching to the next one.

No one could underestimate the power of their group.

Chapter 528 Dual Domain

Bam! Bam!

The Wolf Leader bashed against the walls with its claws and finally broke through, jumping out with its eyes red like blood. What it saw were nine of its pack, all dead laying on the ground. They could see the pain and anger in its eyes but they couldn't do anything.

Those were the laws of the jungle. Someone has to die.

AWUUU!!!

The Wolf Leader howled horribly as if to pay respect to his fallen brothers and sisters before glaring back at the killers. His blue fur suddenly glistened, each strand elongating and sharpening, turning into metallic figure.

'It is going berserk!' Ming warned but Xuefeng already guessed it.

He knew the battle wouldn't be that easy, knowing each Spirit Beast had some unique abilities. He would lie if he said he wasn't eager to battle and train his skills.

Unfortunately, it wasn't destined for him to have a peaceful fight.

'More beasts are coming our way! You guys made too much noise! Hurry and kill it or run away!'

"Xuefeng! We are in danger!" Drakos repeated, looking left and right as if he sensed something. "He called for backup!"

Oof!

They finally realized the howl wasn't for the dead wolves but rather for the rest of the pack.

"Fuck!" Xuefeng cursed and immediately reached for their plan B. "Shan! It's time!"

Princess Shan's expression changed but she understood well what he meant, skipping toward his side. "But we didn't practice it yet."

"It doesn't matter, we need to break through quickly else we will get attacked by the whole pack!" Xuefeng replied anxiously while keeping his sword and reached out for her hands. "Ready?"

Princess Shan nodded firmly, doing the same.

He already shared his idea to the rest so they knew what he planned. There was no other choice.

"Everyone! Protect them until they are done!" Wuying shouted, standing in front of the pair with her blood daggers fully charged. Thin but sharp lines made of blood flew around her, ready to cut everything that stood on her way.

That was the power of Blood Arts. The more she fought, the stronger she got. Naturally, she wasn't stupid to fight hundreds of God Stage beasts on her own. Her Blood Qi would eventually run out.

"We have one minute! They are surrounding us!" Drakos shouted but Xuefeng was confident. "It should be enough!"

He closed his eyes and Princess Shan followed. A quick link was formed between them, their Qi moving between their fingers.

Dual Domain made from Ice and Wind.

If it was Fire and Water, everyone would think he was crazy but this composition was doable. The Wind could empower the Ice, creating a giant snow-storm.

Both Wind and Water Qi began to fill the area surrounding them, slowly expanding. Princess Shan left everything to him, following his own Qi like a glue.

Too bad the Wolf Leader saw through them right away, realizing they

were setting something up.

AWUUU!!

It howled right away and charged forward, clearly planning on disturbing them.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Multiple fireballs exploded right on its face but there was no effect. It continued to speed up, drool flying around from its open jaw.

"Stop him!" Wuying commanded as she launched herself forward, bravely leading the defense.

Thin lines spread in the air like cob-web, wrapping around the Wolf Leader to stop him. It immediately tried to break through, using its teeth to cut the lines only to have them stuck on its mouth like a gag.

Pa!

One line ruptured.

Pa! Pa! Pa!

Multiple others broke right after, too thin to hold down the wolf. Thankfully, Wuying wasn't alone. Yi and Xiao Wen suddenly appeared from both sides, stabbing the still locked target.

AWUUU!

The Wolf Leader howled from pain, no longer in its absolute defense mode, and struggled, forcing the two to retreat. The two wounds bled for a second before they closed, healing at an extremely fast pace.

Wuying frowned, gathering blood from the smaller wolves to create her Shackles of Doom when her body filled with extreme coldness. The ground began to freeze and the wind blew at her face.

"Retreat!"

At her call, all three of them jumped back, running towards Xuefeng and Shan whose eyes were wide open.

They bought enough time.

Ten meters. Twenty meters. Thirty meters.

Their Dual Domain grew stronger with each second as the wind intensified. Snow appeared right after, turning into ice shards in a blink, instantly blasting against the Wolf Leader.

This was the first time the Wolf Leader showed a genuine fear in its eyes, quickly turning around to run as soon as he could.

Too bad it was too late.

Thud!

The Wolf Leader tripped on a sudden ice block, dropping to the ground only to have its feet frozen.

Crack!

The Wolf Leader ripped his leg out but as soon as he placed it again, it turned into ice immediately.

"It's over," Xuefeng called out as they walked up to it from behind, hand in hand with Princess Shan. "Our Domain is complete."

As he finished speaking, the Wolf Leader's legs and torso were rock solid, all frozen in a thick layer of ice.

They controlled every inch inside their Dual Domain.

AWUUU!!

The Wolf Leader howled again, calling for help but Xuefeng was already there, hugging Shan with one arm and holding onto Dragon Edge with the other.

Slash!

With one quick move, the sword passed right through its neck, cutting the whole head.

Thud.

The massive head crashed into the icy ground, lifeless.

"This is not the end," Xuefeng announced. "We have to push forward through this area and reach the mountain. If we fight every beast, we won't reach it in time. I will keep the Domain running till we save Yiren."

"We will leave that to your two then."

They all trusted each other which was the most important aspect in the group.

"Everyone okay?" Xuefeng asked before anything else, knowing it was the first battle for some and his gaze fell on Lisa who seemed quite excited, gripping her pills tightly.

"Everything alright Lisa?"

"Yes! I'm just a bit overwhelmed but Tianshi keeps me sober the whole time. She has been taking care of me the whole time," Lisa replied while hugging onto Tianshi's arm and suddenly looked behind him, calling out, "Xuefeng! Look at the Spirit Beast!"

Xuefeng turned around and saw a shiny light above the Wolf Leader.

'It's a Spirit Artefact of an Immortal Stage Beast!' Ming informed before he even got a better look. 'Based on the looks of it, maybe it's that defensive ability artefact.'

Xuefeng didn't hesitate and collected it. To his surprise, it was a single metal arm-guard.

"Congrats!" Princess Shan was the first to comment, and propose, "You should take it."

Xuefeng didn't want to pretend he didn't want it when he did and nodded, claiming it for himself. "Alright."

They didn't have time so he wore it immediately, planning on inspecting it later and it adjusted to his arm on its own, like a living being. He couldn't be a hundred percent sure what was its ability unless he used it so he couldn't depend on it.

"Let's go," Xuefeng announced, not wasting any more time when suddenly Tianshi called out in panic.

"USE IT NOW!"

Chapter 529 Reunited

"Quick! Catch him before he reaches them!"

Yiren cried out, seeing the old man getting closer to the white barrier above the distant forest. It was definitely Xuefeng's Wind Domain! He was coming to save her!

She felt really excited, figuring Xuefeng was in the middle of battle, passing those feelings to her. Their connection was a blessing for her, letting her know if he was safe at all times.

"I'm trying… He is just teleporting to increase the distance," the Phoenix commented annoyed, swinging with its wings even harder.

How could a King of the Skies let someone else win in a battle of speed?

Yiren barely held onto the Phoenix's feathers, forced to lay down as if glued to avoid falling off.

"You brought it onto yourself! Let me show you the power of an immortal!"

She heard the old man's gibberish and then sensed an immense power building up in front of her.

He was attacking!

"Dang it, we can't stop him anymore," the Phoenix cursed, scaring Yiren even more.

She peeked curiously and saw a thick, two-meter bow in the hands of the old man. The bowstring was already pulled back, ready to release the shiny arrow made of Wind Qi.

"Noooooooo!" Yiren screamed, extending her hand forward, hoping to disturb him with the power of her Bloodline yet she was too late.

Swoosh!

The old man released the arrow. It pierced through the sky with a whistle and entered into Xuefeng's Domain right after, heading straight to the center.

Bang!

They heard a loud explosion and an immediate pain struck Yiren's back, giving her trouble to breathe. Fortunately, those were the only symptoms for her which meant only one thing.

Xuefeng was still alive!

———

Crack, crack.

The human statue began to break, chunks of metal dropping to the frozen ground.

"Au…" Xuefeng grunted in pain, feeling as if he was just hit with a baseball bat in his spine. "Are you okay?"

He held Princess Shan in his arms, blocking the strike with his own body. Compared to his own, her figure was much slimmer, letting him cover her completely.

"I'm fine… What about you?" Princess Shan asked back, trying to help him stand. It was the least she could do after he protected her, using his own life to make sure she was safe.

"Yeah… Ling is already repairing the damage. I'm feeling great. The better question is, what was that?"

He looked around, checking where the attack came from only to hear an alarm from Ming.

'I can sense Fate Qi! There is a Fate Holder in this Hidden Realm! Watch out for another arrow!'

He didn't question her and immediately tumbled away with Princess Shan in his grasp, calling out to the rest, "Watch out!"

Bang!

Another arrow smashed the ground, right at the spot he just left. This time he saw the attack clearly. Wind Qi arrow, flying so fast he didn't think he could dodge it without a warning.

Chunks of ice mixed with the ground flew everywhere

AWUUU!

To make it worse, multiple howls resounded from their surroundings at the same time. The wind barrier of

their Dual Domain dispersed after they stopped controlling it, showing hundreds of wolves around them.

"We can't fight from two fronts! We need to run!" Xuefeng decided as he lifted them up, realizing they were facing two enemies at the same time.

Too bad, there was nowhere to run!

Arrows fell from the sky while on the ground, they were surrounded.

SCREEEE!

A sudden screech solved one of their problems. The moment the wolves heard it, they ran away in all directions.

Xuefeng was in shock but not because of the sudden arrival of the beast that kidnapped Yiren but because of a massive anxiousness he felt.

Yiren was worrying about him and she was close! He could sense her!

"Xuefeng! Look!" Princess Shan tugged on his arm, pointing at the sky.

Through the two holes in the trees made by the arrows, they saw a massive flaming bird, chasing after a man with a bow. He was so close they could see his face, old and wrinkled.

"You are not going to dodge the third one! Die!" The old man cried out in a crazed voice, releasing another arrow.

Xuefeng learned one thing since he came to this world. If you can't dodge it, face it!

A dark blue scaled sword appeared in his hand and he swung it with all his strength, using the side of the blade as if a baseball bat.

Multiply!

Fate Qi got sucked into Dragon Edge, multiplying the power of his attack by a thousand times.

BOOOOOM!

Wind Qi Arrow smashed against his blade only to bounce in all directions, blasting all the trees apart.

Aside from his arms hurting, Xuefeng was fine, gazing at the old man with a smile.

"Impossible!" the old man shouted in disbelief. "You are just a Monarch—"

Bang!

His words got cut off as the flaming bird reached him, smashing the old man with its wing.

"You forgot about me!" the bird called out, sending the old man flying like a meteor.

"Xuefeng!!!"

A loud, longing yell came right after and they saw someone jump off the bird's back.

"Yiren!"

Everyone shouted at the same time with Xuefeng rushing to catch her.

Thud.

He caught her into his arms, falling to the ground under her weight but he didn't mind, hugging her without questions. No matter how much of a dummy she was, he still loved her.

"I was worried about you…" Yiren muttered, squeezing his neck lovingly.

"That's what I'm supposed to say," Xuefeng replied. "I'm glad you are back in one piece."

He didn't plan on scolding her any time soon, knowing it wasn't the right time. A giant flaming bird was right above them, preparing to land and an old fate holder was hunting for him. It definitely wasn't the right time.

They were quickly surrounded by other girls who got into formation around them, making him stand up as well to join them.

Thud! Thud!

The giant bird finally landed with two loud stomps, instantly gawking its eyes at their group.

"Little Dragon! Come out and fight me!" It cried out, not forgetting about its revenge.

The tips of their swords aimed at the bird on instinct when Yiren called out to stop them, lowering their swords, "No! Stop! The Birdy is on our side! She protected me!"

"Birdy? Our side? It's a fucking Phoenix! We cannot trust her!" Drakos called out, hiding behind them. "Let's fight her!"

Contrary to everyone's expectations, the Phoenix didn't get mad but instead started laughing.

"Haha, of course, we will fight! One on one! This lady promised me that," The Phoenix said while pointing at Yiren. "You wouldn't lie to me little girl, right?"

"Never! After we are safe, Drakos will fight with you as promised," Yiren confirmed with a nod.

There was only one person who disagreed with that move and that was the battle participant himself.

"There is no way—" Drakos denied immediately only to have his mouth shut by Nuwa. She finished the sentence for him, "…I would miss a battle with you. That's what he wanted to say."

"Perfect! I cannot wait," the Phoenix nodded happily.

"Yiren, do you know who that old man is?" Xuefeng questioned, recalling they came from the same direction.

He didn't ask how did she convince a Phoenix to listen to her, leaving that for later.

"Oh!" Yiren exclaimed as if she recalled something. "He is mad because I stole him something."

She pulled out a shiny white stone from her ring and passed it to him in full smiles, "Is this what you are looking for?"

Chapter 530 Blackmail

Elemental Stone! It was definitely an Elemental stone!

His Elemental Bracelet began to vibrate crazily, demanding to receive the stone. His arm was even pulled in its direction by some strange force.

Yiren grinned seeing his shocked expression and put the stone in his palm. "Hehe, this is my apology for getting lost. I hope it's enough to avoid scolding."

She acted cute, not realizing how big of a favor she gave him.

"Yiren! You are amazing!" Xuefeng called out excitedly, hugging her tightly and instantly pulled up his sleeve, exposing the Elemental Bracelet.

One of the round sockets was shining with white light, giving him a hint of where to place it. He didn't hesitate and neared the stone to the bracelet, following the suction force.

Click!

Wind Elemental Stone secured!

Xuefeng didn't know what he expected but there were no fireworks, no explosions, nothing. He touched the stone to check if it sit correctly in the socket when his mind went blank.

His surroundings changed. He hovered in the sky, rain fell heavily but he could still see the outline of the place. An island on the lake that had a lake in the middle of it. To his surprise, that small lake also had an island inside of it.

Swoosh!

A sudden blue beam shot to the sky, right from the bottom of the small lake.

'Huh? What was that?'

Right after that scene, his mind returned to the Hidden Realm, making him realize it was just a vision.

"Did you just see the location of the next Stone?!" Drakos called out first, pushing to the middle of the group. "Don't forget! That's our next destination!"

"I think I did see it…" Xuefeng muttered, the picture of the island still vivid in his mind. "It should be Water Elemental Stone."

"Of course it is. Now that you secured Wind Elemental Stone, you have to follow the visions to find the next stones. Depending on which Stone you start from, you have to follow a certain pattern else the Bracelet won't accept the stones. Air, Water, Fire, Earth, Lightning, Blood, Metal, Spirit, Ether. Not sure why but it has always been like this," Drakos explained.

"I see."

It would definitely complicate his plan on completing the whole Bracelet but at least he had some type of guide he had to follow. He only wondered how come no one ever finished it, knowing the exact location of the next stone.

"Xuefeng! I forgot to tell you something." Yiren suddenly called out. "That old man wanted to get your bracelet to live longer which is why he stayed here, wanting to lure you with the stone I stole. He won't leave us if he learns you have it."

At that very moment, Tianshi's eyes widened and she turned around to Yi and Wu who covered the back. "Watch ou—"

Bang!

The earth

underneath the two erupted and a figure appeared behind them. Yi quickly jumped away on instinct, aiming her sword at the intruder while Wu was the unlucky one, having a blade put up her throat.

"Don't move or I will kill her!"

No one wanted to risk Wu getting hurt so they froze, glaring at the old man.

"So many Fate Holders in one group. You almost discovered me. I guess you are not that bad after all," The old man commented as he observed Tianshi with interest. "Too bad, all your abilities combined can't compare to mine."

"He can control time," Yiren exposed him before he could finish, angering the old man.

"No one asked you!" the old man shouted, pressing the blade further to Wu's throat. "But well, that is indeed my power. Impressive, right? You know what I want. I will trade this girls' life for it."

"Don't!" Wu denied sternly. "Attack all together and kill him instead!"

"Shut up!" the old man barked. "One more word and I will—"

"Stop! You win!" Xuefeng bellowed, stopping the old man's movements.

He could already see a bloody line on Wu's throat made by the blade.

"Is this what you want?" Xuefeng asked as he displayed the golden bracelet to the old man, making his eyes shine.

"Yes! Give it to me!"

The desire in the old man's eyes was clear.

"But don't you know I will need to kill myself to give it to you?" Xuefeng questioned.

"No, you don't need to. Just cut off your arm and pass it to me. I will let your woman go once I have it," the old man explained excitedly, his gaze glued to the bracelet.

"Xuefeng…" Yiren muttered worriedly only to have her lips locked by his hand.

"I already decided," he announced, staring into her eyes with an assuring gaze and ordered, "Go stand with Tianshi."

"But��" Yiren wanted to complain but stopped when he repeated himself.

"Go stand with Tianshi."

With their connection, once he loses his arm, she would suffer as well. He understood it very well.

Yiren walked towards Tianshi who immediately grabbed Yiren's hand, pulling her head into her chest. No one saw it but Yiren's expression changed for a second. It returned to a worried one after Tianshi let go of her.

The old man seemed to enjoy Xuefeng's act, all of it pointing to only one decision.

"Fine, I agree," Xuefeng called out.

"Haha! Good! I always thought that women only hold you back! This is a perfect example," the old man laughed and extended his free hand. "Give it to me."

Xuefeng would never leave anyone behind but losing an arm wasn't an option for him. That wasn't the only solution they had though.

No one should ever underestimate the power of their group.

"I will cut it off now," Xuefeng muttered, putting his Dragon Edge on his arm.

He paused.

"I wonder, why do you want it so badly? If I'm going to lose my arm anyway, I might as well know why?" Xuefeng asked curiously, hovering the blade as if he was ready to cut. "You want power?"

"Pfft! Power is just a bonus! I want to be immortal!" the old man sneered. "Give me the bracelet! Don't waste my time!"

"I thought it wasn't confirmed? No one collected all stones yet," Xuefeng pushed the line to get more information but the old man became even more impatient.

"I will bet anything to live longer! Give me the bracelet!"

Wu clenched her teeth, blood streaming on her neck.

"You know, if you just left and didn't bother us anymore, I would let you leave but you threatened to kill my wife. That's unforgivable," Xuefeng said sternly, no longer risking Wu's life.

'Now!'

At his call, they unleashed the bloodline power of the three Royal Elves, immobilizing the old man. Even if just for a moment, it was enough for Wu to escape.

"Wha—" the old man struggled, causing their souls to hurt but they didn't give up easily, buying time for Xuefeng while the rest distanced themselves, hiding next to the Phoenix. He didn't want to risk anyone approaching the man, now knowing the full extent of his strength.

It was time to test the new power of the Elemental Bracelet. So far he could only block Fate Qi attacks using his gauntlet but now he could use the real power of it.

The Mastery of Elements.

Chapter 531 Dark Fate Sec

Swoosh!

Just as he tried to sense the Air Qi in his surroundings, all the Qi around them reacted to his call. It moved at his will as if he had permanent Wind Domain turned on.

To his surprise, he could even feel the air going in and out of their lungs, giving him an evil idea. He could feel Yiren and Nuwa were struggling already so he sent them back, staying back alone.

"You have bloodline!" the old man called outright as he regained his freedom, distancing himself. "Good! Good! Do you think you can fight me? Let me show you the real power of an Immortal!"

A bow appeared in the old man's hand and he shot an arrow at him without hesitation.

Xuefeng only extended his palm, letting it hit him.

Puff!

The arrow split in two, turning into the wind while losing all of the power behind it.

"Don't worry, it won't be a long fight," Xuefeng muttered.

Cough…

Cough, cough…

The old man suddenly grabbed onto his chest, then neck, gasping for breath. He opened his mouth to speak yet no words came out.

"It must be hard to breathe when you have no air to breath from," Xuefeng commented, walking up to the old man.

High ranked cultivators could survive a long time without breathing fresh air, only using the capacity of their lungs yet now Xuefeng emptied them completely for him. The old man began to create his own air only to have it stolen by Xuefeng right after.

Thud, thud.

He fell onto his knees, visually losing strength with each second.

Slash!

The old man's hand fell to the ground, blood gushing in all directions. All rings came off from his fingers and flew towards Xuefeng's palm. He didn't give the old man any chances to come back.

Even though he wanted to scream, the old man's lungs were empty.

Placing his Dragon Edge on the old man's throat, he asked in revenge, "How does it feel to have a sword up your throat? Did you think the situation would turn like this?"

Whoever hurt his women deserved the same treatment and even worse. He didn't even feel bad for his bullying but he got scolded by Ling.

'End him fast. You are using a lot of Fate Qi.'

'Wait, what?' Xuefeng questioned confused.

'Did you think power comes from nothing? The bracelet is sucking Fate Qi from you the more you use it,' Ling explained which absolutely made sense.

Elemental Bracelet was a Spirit Artefact

in a sense so it needed a source of energy to function.

He didn't have an unlimited source of Fate Qi so he finished the job, ending the old man's life with a clean cut.

Thud.

The head rolled on the ground and the headless body fell lifelessly. Even if the old man hurt Wu, there was no need to torture him anymore.

"Such irony," the Phoenix muttered with a sigh. "He wanted to achieve immortality by killing the Elemental Bracelet holder yet he died at the hand of the very same person. He waited all those years for nothing."

Xuefeng had to kill him anyway as he couldn't pass on such a great ability. Just the sheer thought of being able to control time made him desire it.

"Leave the rest to me," Ming said as she appeared next to him and crouched next to the old man's body.

She extended her palm above his chest and closed her eyes. A second later, a golden orb came out of his chest, sucked into Ming's hand. It was a round ball made of what looked like a thick liquid.

Ming inserted her hand inside the ball and her expression immediately turned ugly.

"Bastard…"

It was the first time he saw Ming curse like this.

"What happened?"

She didn't reply right away but instead leaned over and gulped the whole liquid down her throat, swallowing everything. Ming returned into his body right after, clearly upset.

'He connected his soul with his Fate Spirit,' Ming finally explained, still fuming.

'Isn't that exactly what we did?' Xuefeng asked.

'No, you don't understand. He literally consumed his Fate Spirit to prolong his life. Gone. The Fate Spirit is gone forever. It won't be reborn even after this bastard death,' Ming explained further. 'Now I know why I couldn't sense him earlier. He used almost all of his Fate Qi and there was no Fate Spirit inside him I could sense. Even if we didn't do anything, he would die on his own soon.;

'How is that even possible?'

'I don't really know how... It shouldn't be possible. Fate Spirits are the only beings in this universe that are truly immortal. We return back to the reincarnation circle and get reborn. This bastard must have found an evil way to consume his own Spirit. I don't like this…' Ming muttered unhappily.

'So he basically freed himself from his Fate Spirit and took over its powers? He was still able to use his abilities so there can't be other explanation,' Xuefeng guessed. 'But why didn't he use the Fate Stones Mine underneath the mountain then?'

'Maybe he couldn't sense the Fate Qi as Spirits can?' Ling proposed, joining their conversation but there was nothing they could do to confirm it.

'Damn,' Ming cursed again. 'It wouldn't have happened if the Fate Kingdom was still open, monitoring everything under the Heavens. What if more Fate Spirits suffered similarly? Evil Sects might have appeared since the control lessened and invented some method against Spirits.'

'Don't worry, we will investigate and if there really is such sect, we will destroy them,' Xuefeng assured.

He knew how much it mattered to her, knowing she was actually the mother of most of those Fate Spirits.

'Wait,' Xuefeng paused her, getting a sudden idea.

He pulled out the rings he got from the Old Man and scanned them swiftly. Ling and Ming joined him to speed up the process only to find nothing useful to their case aside from one object.

Black Token with three letters inscribed on the surface.

'Dark Fate Sect.'

Chapter 532 Blessing&Curse Dilemma

'Damn it!'

It was the first time Xuefeng saw Ming this mad, hearing her curse for the third time.

'Do you know that Dark Fate Sect?' Xuefeng asked curiously only to receive horrific news.

'I know them very well. We already destroyed them once but it seems like they recreated the Sect after the Fate Kingdom closed. They were a group of cultivators who were against Fate Kingdom ruling, killing all Fate Holders they find. We had to eradicate them but I guess we didn't do a good job.'

'Why would a Fate Holder belong to the Sect then?' Xuefeng wondered.

'I have no idea but maybe they were the ones who helped that old man consume his Fate Spirit. If that was the case, they would achieve their goal of eradicating Fate Spirits and also get a new member. This token is exactly a membership token which at least confirms that he is one of them,' Ming explained, sounding depressed.

'I don't understand why would they even do it. Doesn't Fate Spirit provide immense help? Without you two, I would be long dead. It's stupid,' Xuefeng commented.

Ling helped him on many occasions, saving him from death. He would never even think of getting rid of her.

'To regain their freedom,' Ling pointed out, looking from a different point of view. 'Not everyone has access to so many Fate Stones as we do. Just as I told you at the beginning, Fate Spirits are a blessing but also a curse. Did you forget that once you stop gathering Fate Qi, I would simply consume your soul?'

'…'

He indeed forgot about it.

'From what I know, life in the Heaven Realm is really competitive. It's hard to gain Fate Stones and not everyone wants to live such a life. I wouldn't be surprised if that was the main reason behind it. They want to get rid of the burden and the threat of losing their lives while at the same time keep their abilities. They cannot gain new ones but for someone who wants to live a normal life that's not a problem.'

Everything made sense for him now. Personally, he wouldn't exchange Ling for anything but he could at least understand them. It wasn't like they chose to live the path of Fate and die when they are not capable enough. It was pretty cruel in his opinion but for him, the benefits still outlived the disadvantages.

'Still, this old man didn't seem like he wanted to get rid of the burden. With his obsession with living longer, he must have consumed his Fate Spirit with the sole purpose of living longer,' Ling added. 'Such behavior, I cannot tolerate.'

'Ahh, I hate this…' Ming lamented. 'Xuefeng, even though we kill, we do it because we have no other choice. We kill to survive. Once they die, they enter the reincarnation circle but we don't. When we die, we perish forever. I don't know how they managed to do it but we need to stop it.'

'How about we first find that sect and then decide what to do? Right now we have limited information,' Xuefeng proposed. 'I know you want to protect your children but we cannot act rashly.'

Xuefeng felt trapped, unable to side with any of the sides unless he learned all the details. Both races just wanted to survive.

'What about the old man's abilities? Let's focus on the present for now,' Xuefeng

asked, changing the subject.

Ming was forced to put the topic aside for now, replying, 'He had a lot of abilities…'

———

"Why is he standing there like a tree?" The Phoenix asked confused, staring at Xuefeng's back for the last minute.

"Oh, don't mind him. He will be back to normal in a moment," Yiren replied casually, knowing Xuefeng liked to get lost in thoughts while taking with his Fate Spirits.

"We should probably get going soon. I can sense that many Immortal Beasts are getting pissed off that I'm invading the jungle. They are slowly grouping to face me," The Phoenix informed. "I can face one or two easily but once they gang on me, it will be harder."

"Can you take us away with you?" Yiren pleaded, "We can rest on the top of the mountain before we decide what to do."

"Huh? Do you think I'm a mount? I only carried you here because of our deal," the Phoenix replied sarcastically but Yiren didn't give up.

"Will you really let all of us die here? But how will you get your revenge on Drakos if he dies at the hands of other beasts? If we have limited time, the two of you won't have time to finish your battle. There is no way he acknowledges defeat if you battle in these conditions."

Everyone looked at Yiren as if they didn't recognize her. Since when did Yiren learn how to negotiate?

"Also, as a fellow woman, do you really want to leave us to death? Don't you want some company as you cultivate? We can also tell you many stories about the outside world," Yiren added, smiling cutely.

The Phoenix squinted her eyes, gazing at Yiren curiously. "How do you know I'm a female?"

Yiren only shrugged. "A female with always recognize her sister."

"Alright, I will take you girls but my back is limited," the Phoenix agreed as she pointed at Xuefeng with her beak. "Your man, I can only take him within my claws."

"There is no need," Xuefeng replied on his own, finally returning to them. "I can fly on my own."

As he said so, white light shone from his bracelet and he hovered in the sky above them, pleading, "Miss Phoenix, would you be so kind as to help my wives out? I would take them myself but my mastery is still limited."

"I already said I will," the Phoenix nodded and lowered her wing, letting the girls climb onto her back.

ROAAAAAAAAAAR!!!

A sudden reverberating bellow shook the jungle. It came from not far away, causing everyone to speed up. They didn't want to fight hundreds of beasts at the same time.

"Hold on tight!" the Phoenix called out as soon as everyone jumped onto her back and launched herself in the sky.

The only one still on the ground was Drakos who remained silent the whole time. Instead of calling out for help, he suddenly turned around and set off in the opposite direction.

"And where do you think you are going?" Xuefeng asked as he caught up to him and grabbed his tail, pulling him up from the ground.

"Fuck! Let go of me! I'm not fighting that bi—" Drakos cried out only to get cut off as his head got slapped by a giant leaf.

"Hey! Look where you ar—"

Smack!

"Xuefeng, you moth—"

Smack!

"I swear I will—"

Smack!

Each time he began to talk shit, Xuefeng swung him into the tip of the trees, making him eat some greenery.

"Okay! I'm sorry! No more!" Drakos finally gave up, apologizing.

Only then did Xuefeng lift their altitude, following the Phoenix.

"We are in this situation because of you from the start and you want to dip?" Xuefeng questioned annoyed. "You will fight that Phoenix even if you want it or not."

"Hey! If not for me, we wouldn't get the Elemental Stone so fast! You all should be thanking me instead!" Drakos continued to argue, figuring out a new argument but Xuefeng didn't reply anymore, lowering his altitude once again.

"No, no! I'm sorry! I take that back! I take that ba—"

Smack!

"Stop it already! My face hurts!" Drakos protested, protecting his face with his tiny arms when he paused as if he realized something.

"Wait… I know what you are doing. You are buying time for me, right? When I'm hurt, I can say the battle is not fair so we can postpone it to a further date. I can use the time to sneak out at night and find the entrance to the mountain so I can absorb all the Fate Stones inside the mine, right?"

"No. I'm trying to fix your foul mouth but if you can pull that off, I will kill two birds with one stone," Xuefeng replied, amazed how Drakos turned it around.

Smack!

Drakos' face smacked the leaves once again but this time he was laughing.

"Hit me again! Hahaha!"

When they reached the peak of the mountain, the girls couldn't help but ask confused, "Why is Drakos' face so swollen?"

"I wonder too. He was normal when I grabbed him," Xuefeng feigned innocence as he scratched his head. "Maybe its because I carried him upside down? He should be better in a moment I guess."

He turned to the Phoenix, wanting to plead for a planned break when the Phoenix questioned him first.

"Did you maybe change the time flow in the Hidden Realm?"

Chapter 533 The Kings of Flames

"Yes. I reverted it back to normal. Now the time flow is similar to the outside world," Xuefeng confirmed, not hiding anything especially to a giant Spirit Beast that could kill them easily.

Compared to her, Drakos was still a hatchling.

"Oh! So you took over the old man's ability? Cool!" The Phoenix nodded with its head as if she learned something interesting.

"So we don't need to hurry anymore?" Wuying asked as she took a deep breath. "This place is much better to cultivate compared to the Capital. The air is filled with Spirit Qi."

"We have a lot of time and if we need more, I can even try speeding up the time for us," Xuefeng suggested. "I didn't test it yet but it is definitely possible."

"Perfect!"

In the previous scenario, they only had three months to reach the Peak of Human Cultivation which would require them to cultivate constantly with the assists of many pills. It wasn't the healthiest method.

Prolonging the time period allowed them to focus on different things aside from cultivation like mastery of their skills or polishing their battle capabilities.

Just as Xuefeng thought the Phoenix would forget about her fight with Drakos, she glared at him and challenged.

"Little Dragon! Are you ready for a battle?!"

"Can't you see how injured I am? I can't fight in this state!" Drakos acted according to the plan, trying to look as hurt as possible.

"How about postponing the fight for the later date? It would be best if both participants are

"It doesn't matter if he is hurt or not. I'm only interested in beating him up," the Phoenix replied casually and pointed with its wing at Drakos. "Either you follow me or we will fight here. Your choice."

After that challenge, there was nothing Xuefeng could do anymore. Drakos was too evil to die prematurely and everyone knew that the worst people lived the longest so Xuefeng wasn't about his survival. What he worried about were them, the viewers, who definitely shouldn't be in the middle of the arena.

Xuefeng whispered a command in their minds and they quickly dipped, gathering at the corner of the nest.

"Hey! Don't leave me alone!" Drakos called out in panic, seeing everyone leaving but Xuefeng couldn't help him this time.

"I'm sorry but you are on your own. You started it so now you should end it," Xuefeng called out from the distance, setting up a barrier around everyone just in case.

Ming told him clearly that they had no chance of defeating that Phoenix, at least not in their current state. She was already close to the peak of the Immortal Stage, far, far stronger than the Wolf Leader and the Old Man they defeated earlier.

Just like in Spirit Cultivation, Spirit Beasts ascended after breaking through Rank 9 which was the equivalent of Spirit Monarch Stage. Once reaching the Heavenly Realm, the differences between Humans and Spirit Beasts were non-existent. There wasn't much

difference in how the two cultivated.

Ming saved the explanation for later, wanting to educate everyone at the same time but he knew the Cultivation Path would only start for him in the Heavenly Realm. Everything he experienced so far in this world was just baby steps for every Cultivator.

The only thing Ming told him were the three big parts of Heavenly Cultivation.

God Stage, Immortal Stage, and Celestial Stage.

Each stage split into multiple other ranks he had no idea about. He only learned afterward that the only reason why we defeated the Wolf Leader was his recent breakthrough into Immortal Stage and their Dual Domain just happened to perfectly counter him.

They wouldn't be able to repeat the same stunt with other Spirit Beasts of that level that easily.

'So this Phoenix will turn into her Human form once she reaches the Celestial Stage, right?'

'Yes. She is close. Just a few more years should be enough for her,' Ming replied.

'How strong the Immortal Stage Spirit Beast actually is…?' Xuefeng wondered as he looked at the two legendary beasts in the middle of the nest.

One gigantic, the other not even reaching to his belt.

Only one could win.

———

"Fuck…" Drakos cursed under his breath as he stood one on one against the giant bird. "If you think I'm scared of you then you are greatly mistaken!"

His swollen face healed in a blink, reverting him back to normal before the battle even begun.

Only Phoenixes dared to stand tall in front of Dragons and he had to be so unlucky to meet one while he was still growing back to his original power. Both races were natural enemies, challenging each other to claim the only Title that mattered to them.

'The Kings of Flames.'

Both sides claimed their Flames were more powerful yet they never finished the battle once and for all.

"Hahaha, good! I thought you will pretend you are hurt as I beat you," the Phoenix laughed as she extended her wings.

Swoosh!

A fan of flaming feathers shot out from her wings, creating a thick circular barrier made of colorful flames.

"You are not going to escape me this time," the Phoenix called out happily to which Drakos sneered.

"Tsk, as if I'm scared of your flames! Even if I'm much weaker now, I'm still Drakos the Legendary Dragon!" Drakos called out, full of confidence, and approached the barrier with his hand extended. "I'm the Burning Maniac! The Flaming God! The— Ah! Fuck, it burns!"

Right as his hand touched the colorful flames, his words stuck in his throat and he couldn't help but scream. His beautiful dark blue scales charred black in a split second, unable to stop the Phoenix Flames.

Huuu! Huuu! Huuu!

Drakos blew on his hand to ease his pain but it didn't help at all.

"Hahaha! You are so funny! Did you think you can actually handle my Flames? Laughable!" the Phoenix laughed loudly, cracking up at Drakos' stupidity.

"Hey! It's unfair! I didn't even awaken my own flame yet you want to fight me. How shameless of you!" Drakos argued, keeping his confident attitude but one could see he was panicking. "How dare you bully kids?! If you are so powerful, why don't you wait for me to grow, and then we can face each other!"

He sucked on the burn in between his words, using his saliva as a healing panacea.

Too bad, the Phoenix didn't care.

"Who has the time for that? Do you think I care about a Little Dragon like you? Die!"

The Phoenix opened her beak and suddenly Drakos' eyes widened. "Not good!"

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Three Fireballs got shot in quick succession, aiming at his front, right and left, forcing him to duck to avoid it yet they exploded in contact with the ground, splashing all over him.

Auu!

He blocked the flames with his wing, suffering immense pain.

Thud! Thud!

He smacked his wing against the ground, extinguishing the fire only to face another fireball.

Bang!

He blocked with the second wing, blown away several meters back.

It was a losing battle! He couldn't even fight back!

Both of his wings were both burned, his arm as well. It wasn't a beating. It was a daylight murder!

"Any last words Little Dragon?" the Phoenix asked playfully as she extended her wing, aiming the tip at Drakos' head.

"Wait! Don't kill me!" Drakos pleaded, grabbing his last chance for survival. "I already had my Human Form once! I know how to cultivate faster! I have a special method! I can help you!"

He closed his eyes, covering his face so he can die handsome yet the Phoenix execution didn't come, only her voice did.

"What method?"

Chapter 534 Little Scammer

There was his chance!

Drakos opened his eyes and saw a curious look in the Phoenix's eyes. He could use this to save himself!

"Yes! I got a method. I'm willing to share!" Drakos called out excitedly.

"You know I will kill you if you are lying?" The Phoenix warned, withdrawing her wing.

"Yes, yes! I know but I'm not lying. I really do have a method."

"Talk then," the Phoenix demanded.

"Ahem," Drakos cleared his throat. "Can you give me a moment? I need to regenerate my body. My whole body got burned just now."

The Phoenix only glared at him without saying anything so Drakos took it as a yes and sat down. The membrane of his wings and the scales on his arm were all ruined but after he channeled Fate Qi through his body, new scales began to replace them, shedding the old skin.

"Dragons still can't match the regeneration ability of us, Phoenixes." the Phoenix didn't shy away from throwing punches at him and his race, showing the deep grudge between the two races.

"Of course, when you die, you get reborn. Sounds quite overpowered. That's your only advantage when compared to Dragons but I have my own methods similar to those," Drakos replied with a smirk and stood up, all healed up. "See? I'm like new. I said before I had my Human Form. I already died once yet here I am, alive and kicking with a new body I created for myself. Amazing, right?"

Drakos' words brought out a curious look from the Phoenix.

"How?"

'Hehe, she is hooked,' Drakos commented in his mind and explained, gesticulating with his small hands. "You see, unlike other Spirit Beasts, we don't consume Spirit Qi to grow but Fate Qi instead. Throughout our lives, we grow up by consuming Fate Qi from the air. This process can take up many, many years but if we are patient, we will eventually reach the highest, Celestial Stage."

"That is correct," the Phoenix confirmed.

"But, what if I told you there is another method to grow much faster?" Drakos teased, continuing to pause after each question.

Too bad the Phoenix didn't belong to the most patient ones. "Tell me already. Stop stalling or else…" She threatened by flaming the tip of her wing.

"Okay, okay, I'm telling," Drakos quickly gave in. "The method requires you to first reach the Celestial Stage, take Human Form, and then separate your body and Spirit, rebuilding it once again using only Fate Qi. You will be able to use Fate Stones to cultivate much faster."

He basically described exactly what happened to him in his life.

Swoosh!

A flaming feather got shot by the Phoenix but Drakos already expected it, dodging beforehand.

"You… Are you trying to scam me? What is that useless method?" The Phoenix questioned angrily. "I thought you have a method that will

help me reach Celestial Stage faster yet you try to cheat me. What's the point of recreating my body after I already achieved my Human Form?"

The Phoenix's body suddenly lit up with flames.

"I should have known I can't trust a Dragon."

Drakos' eyes widened, his idea of acting cool backfiring at him.

"Wait! My method is better!" Drakos shouted, trying to stop her. "Are you going to wait another thousand years before you can advance again or would you rather advance in days as long as you have resources to do so?!"

The Phoenix's flames reduced as Drakos hooked her attention again.

"Explain before I kill you!"

"So what if you have to recreate your body? As long as you have Fate Stones, you can go back to the Celestial Stage with your new Fate Qi Body within days. What's more, your new body would be no longer limited by any restrictions of your bloodline. You can keep all your abilities while a new boundless path opens in front of you. My Fate Qi body is also much stronger than before!"

"I'm not dumb. There has to be a catch," the Phoenix pointed out. "You keep mentioning you need to have a lot of Fate Stones for that. How much exactly? Just look at your small body right now. How long will it take you to recover?"

Drakos smirked on the outside but inside of his mind, he was panicking. If she learns the truth, he would be a goner immediately. Thankfully, his acting skills were top-notch.

"You don't have to worry about that," he stated confidently. "There just happens to be a huge Fate Stones mine right underneath this mountain that I was eying from the beginning. If you spare me now, I will help you with this whole process. It's not like you need to wait long for your next breakthrough."

The Phoenix glared at him. "And what if you are lying to me?"

"Well, I will be here under your control till you breakthrough. I'm not going anywhere. You will see how fast I'm growing by absorbing the Fate Stones from the mine and then you can decide if you want to proceed with my method," Drakos explained. "What do you think? Deal?"

The Phoenix hesitated for a moment before all of her flames disappeared and she agreed, "Fine, I will watch you for a while then and decide later. If I find out you lied, I will burn you into ashes."

"That's a deal then!" Drakos called out excitedly. "Let's go back and inform the rest."

He couldn't wait to get away from her.

'Hehe, such a naive girl… Just you wait… Once I regain my strength, I will get my revenge and let you taste my Legendary Flame…'

———

"I'm back!"

Xuefeng couldn't help but stare amazed at the small figure when he saw Drakos walk back in one piece.

"Oof, when I saw the flames, I thought you are already done for."

"Me too. Such a shame," Nuwa commented, making Drakos roll his eyes.

"I can hear you!"

Nuwa only shrugged. "You were meant to hear it. You still didn't pay me back for endangering Yiren's life."

No matter how clumsy Yiren was, she was still her daughter so she would stay by her side. If not Yiren, the Phoenix would eventually kidnap someone else so that argument was faulty. It would be even worse if she attacked them directly in the open field.

"Okay, I said sorry already. Everything worked out in the end," Drakos apologized and quickly changed the topic. "Anyway, I struck the deal with Miss Phoenix! You all can stay here while we visit the Mine underneath the mountain."

Huh?

Everyone was dumbfounded by it. Did she really strike a deal with this little scammer?

"And I will kill him if he lied to me," the Phoenix added.

Oh.

Everyone nodded, finding that more reasonable.

"Miss Phoenix, do you mind if we settle here?" Xuefeng asked to unload the tension in the air. "I would like to place a small house for us."

"House?"

His wives brightened when they heard him, looking at the Phoenix with excited glances.

"You mean something like a cave? Sure. Just don't make it too big," the Phoenix replied casually and suddenly grabbed Drakos with its claws. "Let's go!"

"Hey! Let go—"

Drakos' voice faded as the Phoenix flew to the edge, flying down the mountain.

Xuefeng turned around to the girls behind him and questioned with a smile.

"Who wants to build a house with me?"

Chapter 535 Hideout Clean-up

"Boss… You were so rough last night yet you called me tonight as well. Hehe, I can barely move after just one night…"

A voluptuous lady walked inside a bedroom, her body barely covered with little to none clothes on her. The boss she talked to was sitting in front of a desk, rubbing his forehead while looking at the few documents.

When he saw her, he brightened, beckoning her to come over.

"Good, you are finally here. I need to release my stress," the Boss called out, spreading his legs apart without even standing up from the chair. "Suck me off for now."

The lady didn't seem to mind his imperious tone and hopped towards him happily, kneeling in front of him. "We are not going to move to the bed? My knees will hurt later…"

Ah!

The Boss pulled on her hair, bringing her closer to his crotch. "Since when did I care about your knees? I'm busy. You will suck while I work."

"Yes, Boss…" the lady replied with a forced smile, acting numb to his aggressive behavior.

She grabbed onto his pants, ready to work when a sudden explosion scared her.

Bang!

The ground shook, making both her and the chair shiver.

Thud!

The Boss pushed her to the side as he stood up, called out angrily at the door, "What is going on there?!"

There was always a guard in front of the Boss bedroom who immediately entered inside at the call.

His panicked face was more than enough to show something wasn't right.

"Boss! We are under atta—" the man cried out when a sudden arrow pierced through the back of his head, not even letting him finish the sentence.

Thud.

His body fell to the floor, lifeless.

Screams and the sounds of battle flooded the bedroom, scaring both the Boss and lady on the floor, already ashen on her face.

"Fuck!" The Boss cursed, pulling out his sword and rushed towards the door, the only exit of the room.

Even if he couldn't defeat the attackers, he could at least escape.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

He didn't even take two steps when two arrows covered in Qi entered through the door, forcing him to dodge to the side.

Silence.

The screams of death ended just as soon as they started. Aside from occasional sounds of battle in the side rooms, the whole main floor got wiped out within seconds.

Sweat dripped from the Boss' forehead as he finally began to worry about his life. There was no way he can face an enemy who can defeat all his underling this fast.

The lady on the floor gazed at the Boss and suddenly stood up, running towards the exit while screaming.

"Help me! He is here! The Boss is here!"

The Boss' eyes widened and he reacted instinctively, grabbing her by the hand.

"Shut up you whore!" The Boss cursed at her, slamming her against the wall but she quickly picked herself up not bothered by the blood on her head.

"Aaaaaah!! Help! He is killing me!" She screamed, running out of the room when a cold female voice filled the hideout.

"Don't worry… I know where he is…"

The lady stopped in front of big stairs that led to the lower floor and moved to the side, her face pale.

Step. Step. Step.

The female attacker steps were the only sound that resounded

in the room. Her voice sounded familiar but the Boss couldn't remember where he heard it.

Coldness.

Out of nowhere, the room temperature dropped drastically and everything covered with ice.

Then he saw her face.

"It's you! How are you still alive?!" The Boss called out immediately, recognizing her.

He knew something was up when the group didn't come back to the hideout for the night. Initially, he didn't worry as that happened often but now it was obvious they were dead already.

The blond beauty in front of him was a live testimony that their mission failed.

"So you do remember me? The woman you ordered your men to rape and kill?" the beauty asked. "That's good. It saves me trouble explaining why I came to kill you."

The Boss frowned, regaining his confidence as he raised his sword. If it was just her, he could easily defeat her.

"Pfft, just a pseudo-God Stage," the Boss commented sarcastically. "Die!"

His body suddenly wrapped in shiny scaled armor and his sword lit up, releasing three dark green snakes that coiled around the blade. He didn't wait and launched an offensive, piercing in the beauty's direction.

The three snakes acted as alive, shooting forward with their poisonous fangs ready to bite. Strangely enough, the beauty wasn't even a bit scared.

"Freeze!"

She yelled only one word, not even pulling out her weapon, and everything turned into ice.

The snakes became icicles and his body stiffened all over.

"W-wha—"

The Boss couldn't even defend, attacked from all sides by the cold and even his armor didn't save him, freezing completely. Even if his body wasn't really hurt, he couldn't move.

Multiple layers of ice grew on top of each other, making him a big ice statue with only his head sticking out of it.

"I guess I overestimated your power. All you can do is gang up in groups but when it comes to solo battles, you are useless. Your Artefacts can only help you so much," the beauty commented coldly, walking up to the Boss.

"W-wait! You can't kill me! We are supported by Dark Fate Sect! They will find—" The boss tried to defend himself but he couldn't finish as ice covered his face, shutting him up.

Although he was locked, he was still alive but not for long. The beauty placed her hand on the ice and it invaded further, breaking through the Boss Armor.

When he was frozen completely, she pushed the statue, letting it crash with the floor.

Crack!

The statue broke into hundreds of pieces.

"Congrats Jiao. You got your little revenge."

Another female voice resounded in the room as a woman with a painted scar on her eye entered inside. "You are strong. I like it."

She carried a bow in her hand, smiling as she looked at Jiao's back.

"He was weak," Jiao replied simply, walking towards one of the ice chunks, having the Boss' hand inside of it.

"Don't look down on Heaven Realm cultivators. Those bandits are degenerates who didn't bother to cultivate their elements or simply didn't have the talent to do so. Their stages are low as well."

"I know," Jiao muttered in agreement and ripped one of the fingers with her old ring on it before throwing the rest at the woman behind her. "You can take the rest Dandan. You didn't get to loot."

Dandan smiled and caught the ice chunk with a smile, not rejecting a free reward.

"What are we doing with the girl?" Jiao asked curiously, gazing back at the naked lady only to find her on the floor, dead.

"There are limits to bandit brutality too. They get bored of raping so they would rather have women who serve them instead, living with them with the sole purpose of pleasuring them. Those women get paid for their work and they exchange them every few months. It's quite a common practice in many bandit groups," Dandan explained. "They are part of the Bandits so they deserve to die."

"Okay," Jiao acknowledged, not really bothered with that.

Dandan suddenly recalled something and turned around, calling out to the rest. "You know the rules girls! Whatever you can find in the next five minutes, it's yours! First come, first served! Five minutes and we are leaving!"

Other girls from the Sect already knew what they had to do, looting the whole hideout.

"You seem quite experienced. Death is not unfamiliar to you. That's exactly who we are looking for," Dandan pointed out.

"I have seen enough to not be moved," Jiao nodded, checking her ring for any losses.

Thankfully, almost nothing was touched.

"I wonder, were you someone important in the Earth Realm? You seem to have some skills," Dandan asked curiously, taking the opportunity of their free time.

Jiao shrugged and replied casually, pulling out her Sect Leader token, "Actually, I was a Sect Leader of White Lotus Sect."

"Hahaha! What a coincidence that we met! Now you can join White Lotus Sect once again!" Dandan replied, laughing earnestly.

Jiao finally smiled at that.

"I thought I already joined?"

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