Boom !

　　As Fang Xing held up the jade-boned umbrella and instilled it with Qi, a large number of spells began to appear. Defensive formations formed in layers one after another to thoroughly protect the person behind the paper umbrella, but Prince Chu Huang’s lance instantly activated and pierced through the surface of that umbrella, tearing steadily through the layers of the formations. A battle lance soaked in the blood and flesh of royalty was simply too powerful, and even Fang Xing who’d prepared for it was pushed back by its great force.

　　Tst tst tst tst ….

　　In mere moments, no fewer than nine formations had been pierced by this lance, and yet it still didn’t stop and continued on through the paper umbrella completely. Fang Xing’s gaze chilled and his palm closed over the point of the lance as it neared his heart, but by this point the lance’s power had already been used up.

　　“The Tenra Umbrella….” Prince Chu Huang’s pupils dilated and he showed a strong hatred before suddenly turning to flee. He hadn’t noticed until now that the umbrella in Fang Xing’s hands was the Ancient tool he’d given to his little sister, Chu Ci. He’d pretended to be crazy and launched a surprise attack, yet that umbrella managed to save the brat’s life. The power of the battle lance was nearly completely gone after that attack, and with that little demon grasping it in such a manner, there was no way for Prince Chu Huang to continue fighting. He instead gathered up his remaining Qi and tried to seize his chance to escape by tearing away the black smog with a golden light and flying out.

　　“Bastard, you think you can escape?” Fang Xing growled and started chasing closely behind. The golden crow beneath him was extremely fast—many times faster than he’d been in the Qing-Yun Sect—and was like a golden cloud as he caused the distance to quickly shrink.

　　Prince Chu Huang hurriedly fled from the black smog, but before he could breathe in relief, he saw the extremely vicious Fang Xing heading towards him. “You’ve already caused so much trouble for yourself! How dare you want to kill me; do you want to offend our Chu royal clan as well?” he loudly screamed in terror. There was already the hint of a plea to be spared in his voice, but he had always been a proud person and couldn’t truly say it directly.

　　“I’ve already made myself so many enemies, am I really scared of adding your Chu clan to my list?” Fang Xing shouted. “I already considered letting you go! You were the one who sought your own death, so how can you fault me for this?” As he shouted, the golden crow flew even faster.

　　“I cannot die. How can I—the prince—die here?” Prince Chu Huang shouted in anguish, only to have a sudden thought and head towards the ground instead. Fang Xing’s murderous intent was clear by now, and there was only one person who’d be able to save his life.

　　“Chu Ci, help me…..” Prince Chu Huang was like a golden ray of light as he drew closer to a group of white-robed Spirit Stage disciples below. The disciples wore clothing of the Snowy Mountain, and inside the black horse carriage was a purple-dressed little girl—his little sister, Chu Ci.

　　Chu Ci had been speaking with Ying Qiaoqiao, but she raised her face immediately when she heard those cries for help and was extremely surprised to see how defeated her brother looked. “Royal Big Brother….”

　　Prince Chu Huang was overjoyed to see Chu Ci and continued rushing forward—in his mind, the only thing that would be able to save his life right now was this burdensome sister of his. “Chu Ci, hurry, help me….” He’d seen with his own eyes how Chu Ci had been escorted to the innermost depths of the Mysterious Domain by this little demon, and not only was she unharmed, the wounds she’d had at the small stone bridge were almost completely cured as well, meaning the little demon had taken good care of her. Furthermore, the little demon had prevented her from being slapped at the Chaotic Stone Valley’s entrance, which meant she occupied at least some part of that little demon’s heart. Hopefully this little demon who’d vowed to kill him would spare his life in the end, even if only for the sake of his little sister!

　　Just as he was about to reach Chu Ci, however, he felt a sense of extreme danger as a golden light and cloud bore down upon him.

　　“Don’t… don’t kill me!” Chu Huang could only shout in terror. He desperately tried to turn amidst his yell, but the golden cloud was just too fast and the person on top of it was too vicious. Before Chu Huang was able to turn around, a chill pressed against his back and— splurt —a golden battle lance pierced straight through his chest, holding him in place a mere ten feet away from Chu Ci.

　　Prince Chu Huang’s gaze began to fade as he turned. His expression was as though crying, yet there was a smile on his face as blood began to fill his nostrils and mouth. “How… how can you be so ruthless?”

　　“I’m not used to being merciful!” Fang Xing replied with a stern expression. He shook the battle lance and the great power exploded, pulverizing Prince Chu Huang into a bloody mist. As the mist began to scatter, he noticed the dumbstruck look of Chu Ci below as well as the hateful look of Ying Qiaoqiao, causing a bizarre feeling to form in his heart as though it had been roughly stabbed a few times.

　　Fang Xing’s mind quickly turned and he decided he should probably do something. After a brief moment of silence, he showed an extremely exaggerated and conceited smile and proclaimed, “Haha, you bunch of trash from the Snowy Mountain dare try to fight me? First it was that useless trashed named Fang Xiaojiu, then it was this golden turtle egg of a bastard. How dare you try to provoke me? All of you will need to die….”

　　“What the hell are you playing at, Fang Xing?” Ye Gu’yin suddenly shouted from the side. She’d been wounded by Fang Xing and hadn’t entered the black smog again, but she was fully aware Fang Xing was also Fang Xiaojiu. She’d been one of the people next to Prince Chu Huang who’d encircled Fang Xing, and when Prince Chu Huang asked his questions, she’d heard it as well— she understood completely Fang Xiaojiu and Fang Xing were one and the same. “Hurry and give me back my—”

　　“Stupid bi*ch, you want to be the third one?” Fang Xing’s gaze was like a bolt of lightning as he looked towards her. His hand clawed at the air and he grabbed ahold of her with an invisible force that quickly brought her into the sky.

　　Ye Gu’yin struggled but unexpectedly wasn’t able to resist it, and even Hou Guimen beside her didn’t have enough time to react. Within mere moments, Fang Xing had brought Ye Gu’yin close while Hou Guimen chased after them, but once Fang Xing brought her inside the black smog, Hou Guimen ended up ensnared in a gathering of beast spirits and couldn’t continue.

　　“Bastard, go for it if you want to kill me!” Despite being caught, Ye Gu’yin was as arrogant as ever; rather than begging for mercy, she actually began to curse instead.

　　“I won’t kill you, and I will return your Phoenix-Fear to you, but I will need your help to prove something,” Fang Xing calmly said while tossing over her Phoenix-Fear Guqin.

　　Ye Gu’yin accepted the instrument in disbelief before sneering. “You’re begging me for help?”

　　Fang Xing tilted his head towards her and smiled. “I’m not begging you, I’m helping you. I’m sure you also know the enmity between me and the Huangfu clan has been set in stone, and this would assuredly have implications for the Snowy Mountain. If you are smart, you won’t let others know who Fang Xiaojiu is. Remember this: Fang Xiaojiu is Fang Xiaojiu, Fang Xing is Fang Xing. Fang Xiaojiu was killed by Fang Xing….” As he spoke, his gaze chilled further. “Since you were so certain the little demon you saw before was real, don’t go back on your words now!”

　　Ye Gu’yin was surprised but let out a cold laugh. “How could a secret like this possibly survive scrutiny?”

　　“Whether it can be kept a secret isn’t important. This can be considered my compensation to the Snowy Mountain….” Fang Xing laughed before continuing, “As a reward, once I’ve entered the Sword Mound, you can choose a Sword Embryo!”

　　Ye Gu’yin bit her lip, unable to decide so readily.

　　“We were going to do that anyway!” a voice suddenly rose up as someone entered the black smog. The voice belonged to a woman holding a bloodied longsword and wearing snow-white clothing—none other than Xiao Xue. This extremely combative woman had just managed to fight to her satisfaction and was about to leave, only to stop when she saw Ye Gu’yin being caught. Hou Guimen’s battle prowess wasn’t enough to get through the entanglement of beast spirits, but she on the other hand was able to get rid of them to come here.

　　“The problems you have caused are simply too large, and not even Snowy Mountain can protect you anymore. Given this situation, Fang Xiaojiu is Fang Xiaojiu, the disciple of our Snowy Mountain; Fang Xing is Fang Xing, that infamous little demon of Jambu. This would be the best result!” Xiao Xue came closer and softly said, “Even if there are some gaps in the story, I’m sure our shifus will all find some evidence to prove you two are different people!”

　　“That would be best….” With that, Fang Xing turned without anything more to say. In the beginning, something like hiding his identity wasn’t something he even considered, but the gazes of those two girls had caused him to have such ideas. He didn’t know whether it was possible to keep the truth hidden—what Ye Gu’yin said was true, and it wouldn’t be difficult for people to realize Fang Xing and Fang Xiaojiu were the same person if they investigated it—but he didn’t care about that. What mattered wasn’t whether someone might be able to find the connection, but if it was enough to keep those two girls from knowing.

　　It could be said Fang Xing had his own form of mercy, and this was the fullest extent of it.

　　“Oi….” After Fang Xing turned to leave, Xiao Xue smiled. “Shidi Fang, you still owe me a battle!”

　　Fang Xing paused in his footsteps and smiled back. “It is Fang Xiaojiu that owes you, not me!” Then, he dashed back into the depths of the black smog with a laugh and no longer looked back.

　　Once Fang Xing disappeared into the black smog once more, Fang Xiaojiu was truly dead.