Fang Xing cried the entire journey as the golden crow helped him flee.

　　The Qing-Yun Sect was left in a state of shock. That little demon had indeed shown himself in response to the Huangfu clan’s forceful and vicious method, but what happened afterwards was beyond anyone’s expectations. Rather than trying to rescue Tie Rukuang, the little demon chose to shoot him with an arrow before making his own escape. The cultivators were all in a state of disbelief at this; just how vicious could this little demon get to commit a deed as evil as murdering his own teacher?

　　Although survival of the fittest was the norm in the realm of cultivation, the passing of inheritance and knowledge formed the basis of their society and so they were still extremely respectful towards their teachers. Even though the method Fang Xing chose was perhaps the best and only method he had available to him at the time, the fact someone would murder their own teacher not something the other cultivators could accept.

　　“He is indeed a little demon….”

　　“He dares to even murder his own teacher…. Seems like the Huangfu clan was still underestimating him!”

　　“It’s the Huangfu clan that didn’t understand things properly. That little demon betrayed his sect; how could he have such thoughts as respecting his teacher? The Huangfu clan wanted to use his teacher to threaten him, but that was the wrong move and the little demon has perhaps used this act to intimidate anyone might want to threaten him in the future. After today, I bet nobody will use this method against him again!”

　　A countless number of people within the Qing-Yun Sect were quietly discussing this. Everyone’s expression was filled with either shock or anger, and there were even some who were discussing amongst themselves that they’d just witnessed the birth of a real demon.

　　“That little bastard! How dare he actually k— kill our esteemed shifu! I… this is absolutely unforgivable!” The Duanzhen disciples all released mournful cries while discussing Fang Xing. No matter the reason Fang Xing had done it, this action had caused him to truly be considered a traitor. After killing his own teacher, that title was set in stone without any hope of being cleansed—it would follow him throughout the rest of his life.

　　As for Xiao Shanhe and Elder Qin’nyao who’d been playing a game of Weiqi against each other, their palms were shaking and their faces had been drained of blood. After a long time passed, Qin’nyao let out a mournful sigh and looked at Xiao Shanhe in anger. “It’s all the fault of you and that great plan of yours….”

　　Xiao Shanhe didn’t respond immediately. It wasn’t until a long time had passed before he finally sighed out, “What use is there bringing this up now?”

　　Elder Qin’nyao was filled with panic and fear. “What can we do? What is it we can do?”

　　Xiao Shanhe was silent for a long time before replying, “What else can we do? Pray the Huangfu clan is able to catch him! If he doesn’t die this time, the two of us… heh….” There was even a tremor in his voice, and despite the laugh, there wasn’t a smile to be seen—there was only apathy.

　　A flash of anxiety crossed Elder Qin’nyao’s face when she heard this, and terror began to settle in the depths of her eyes.

　　—

　　Within the mountains of the Qing-Yun Sect, a grey-robed elder—the same person who’d been observing Fang Xing and the golden grow—looked towards the punishment platform and saw the deceased Tie Rukaung with the arrow piercing through his heart. He let out a low sigh, pulled out a blank scroll, and began painting a mysterious spell with his fingertip. After a long while, a faint light flew down from above the platform on its own and went directly into the blank scroll, causing ink to form into the image of Tie Rukaung letting out a loud laugh.

　　“Seems that pupil of yours did something to make you happy….” The grey-robed elderly man sighed before continuing to himself, “Killing you with a single arrow was indeed vicious, but this little demon’s action at least saved you from losing your spirit soul. Well, come with me. Someone in the Spirit Temple Mountain believes you’ve shouldered the burden of their responsibility and wants to compensate you in some manner. Thinking about it, this has become an opportunity for you as well….” While holding the scroll, the grey-robed elder sighed one last time before quietly flying away.

　　—

　　Thanks to the extreme speed of the golden crow, Fang Xing had already gotten back to the hundred thousand mountains and all of the five angrily chasing Golden Cores had been left so far behind not even their shadows could be seen. Fang Xing cried the entire way while loudly cursing as though using every vile word in the world, and by the time the golden crow felt it was safe and stopped at a summit, his voice had become hoarse.

　　The golden crow didn’t try to soothe Fang Xing; instead, he squatted down on the summit and gazed out in the distance on high alert, carefully watching in case anybody from the Huangfu clan caught up.

　　After a long while, Fang Xing’s crying had finally calmed down and he wiped the tears from his face. “Let’s go!”

　　The golden crow could tell something was up and sucked in a large breath. “Where to?”

　　“To take some interest!” Fang Xing declared with clenched teeth.

　　The golden crow quickly asked for more details. After listening to Fang Xing’s careful explanation, he was suddenly left in shock, so much so that the golden feathers on his body stood up and he thought he’d heard wrong.

　　—

　　At the moment, there were still some cultivators who hadn’t left the Mysterious Domain. There hadn’t been a strict schedule on when people entered the Mysterious Domain, and leaving was the same. There were those with low ambition who entered and left without taking anything at all—believing their lives were too important to risk—whereas those with great ambition would willfully seek out the better opportunities within, such as the Immortal’s Garden, Sword Mound, and Spells Hall. Those who had the greatest ambition of all would directly enter the Mysterious Domain’s innermost depths.

　　There were five major categories of opportunities that existed not only within the Mysterious Domain, but the entire world as well: scripts, spells, tools, pellets, and plants.

　　Scripts were the methods and manuals for cultivation—such as Qing-Yun’s Qi Formation—which taught a cultivator how to make use of the Qi between the heavens and earth and improve their own cultivation level. Different scripts had different uses, and although this was typically considered the slowest method to cultivate, there were still some very profound scripts that allowed for incredibly quick progress. Spells typically involved the application of one’s cultivation, with an example being the Yin Yang Sanding Disc, a spell that was also called an apex skill. Tools referred to magical weapons, and in fact the Sword Mound within the Mysterious Domain had been the opportunity for tools of the highest quality. As for pellets, not only did they have various special and unique properties, they also contained the theories of alchemy within them; for another alchemist, each pellet was effectively an inheritance of alchemical knowledge that allowed them to learn all manner of things. The last were plants, which referenced spirit herbs and fruits.

　　Thus far, Fang Xing had already obtained three of the five types of opportunities within the Mysterious Domain: tools, pellets, and plants. It could also be said Fang Xing had obtained something from the category of “scripts” since the Sword Embryos contained the method of performing ancient Flying Sword techniques, but he hadn’t gotten any standard ones like the golden crow had.

　　Aside from these opportunities, there were also some extremely talented cultivators who’d set their focus on the Monument Slab at the very center of the Mysterious Domain and intended to leave their names behind. Based on what the blue-clothed bandit had said, those who leave their name on the slab have a chance to receive the “true opportunity” of the Mysterious Domain, as well as a chance to join a large sect in Videha.

　　For this reason, although most people had steadily left the Mysterious Domain, some of the top talents were still competing within the domain’s depths to have their names on the ranking. As for how the competitions were carried out, Fang Xing didn’t know—it could be anything from a battle of wits to a show of strength. The last remaining group of people competing over the slab would likely remain within the Mysterious Domain over twenty days more than Fang Xing had.

　　At the moment, the perimeter surrounding the Mysterious Domain was being guarded by various groups of people. Those who remained were either the most powerful ones of Jambu who were waiting for their extremely talented elites to return, or those who were interested in firsthand gossip and were waiting to see the final rankings among Jambu’s young elites—people looking for entertainment, to put it bluntly. Those who dared to enter the deepest parts of the Mysterious Domain were all top elites who showed themselves very rarely, yet this was a chance for them to all gather in one place and fight for a ranking—all cultivators saw this as a grand event.

　　Among the strongest powers still inside, the Huangfu clan was naturally the most respected of them all. The southern Ghost Kingdom’s forces had also yet to leave, as their prince—Li Ying—as well as their princess—who was mysterious and unknown even to those in the Ghost Kingdom—were still inside. Four or five forces of the northern mountains were still there, and the Snowy Mountain hadn’t left, either; after safely escorting the other Snowy Mountain disciples out, Xiao Xue had returned to the depths with the intent to use her sword and leave her name on the slab as well.

　　In a sense, aside from the five standard opportunities of scripts, spells, tools, pellets, and plants, the Mysterious Domain had another kind of opportunity: “fame”.

　　“Latest news from within the Mysterious Domain. Huangfu’s young master; the young successor of the northern mountain; Prince Li Ying of the southern Ghost Kingdom; son of the Han clan of the western deserts; daughter of the Wang clan from the western deserts; Snowy Mountain’s Xiao Xue; as well as a few very mysterious youths have all passed the God’s Bridge.

　　“No fewer than a hundred have entered the innermost depths of the Mysterious Domain, and the Monument Slab will only record the number of the Big Dipper—the top thirty-six—and then the seventy-two following. At most there will be a hundred and eight. The eastern continent of Videha has already taken up too many of the slab’s ranks; I wonder how many of these top elites of our Jambu will really be able to leave their names behind and become part of the hundred and eight….”

　　Outside the Mysterious Domain, a countless number of cultivators waited while discussing what was going on inside as well as the Monument Slab.

　　“How exactly do you leave your name on the Monument Slab? Do all the elites have to battle it out in the domain’s depths?” someone confusedly asked.

　　Those who knew the answer explained it to him. “The method to leave your name on the slab is extremely mysterious and no one knows exactly how many methods there are. However, battling it out in the depths is indeed a method. The information that has traveled outside is still very lacking, and the precise methods are still uncertain. Apparently there are no more opportunities within the Mysterious Domain’s depths anymore, but there are plenty of dangerous areas with difficult formations and vicious corpse fiends. Those who entered the depths earlier were able to use their own power to arrive in front of the slab, and were therefore given the chance to leave their name on it, as though it was some sort of evaluation. Those who enter the depths late still have a chance as long as they defeat a cultivator who’d already left their name on the slab. A person’s name disappears if they’re defeated inside the domain, so it is very likely these top elites end up battling it out!”