“Walking often along the river shores, how could someone not wet their shoes….”

　　“Exploring too many night paths, one would surely run into a ghost….”

　　“Hunt too many wild geese, one’s eye will one day be pecked out….”

　　Within the empty black hall, Fang Xing sighed while sweeping the empty hall with a broom, his voice filled with unmatched hopelessness, unmatched helplessness, and unmatched despair. It was as though he had completely fallen into the deepest pit of his life and was unable to escape. He was like dead ash right now, his heart even more silent than an old monk’s. He was even entertaining the thought of entering a buddhist sect to become a monk himself.

　　Who the hell would’ve imagined he’d actually come into contact with the Mask of Wanluo’s creator inside the Snowy Mountain’s depths? When he’d realized such a terrifying truth, Fang Xing felt as though he’d been nailed to a pole at the center of a circle of bandits!

　　Who the hell wears an item to try to fool the item’s creator? This was like trying to swindle the emperor while wearing his dragon robe!

　　The man was old, too. Fang Xing had thought the creator of the mask would have long since died since the mask was so tattered. How could he have imagined he was not only alive and well, but would appear right here?

　　This was a huge, mind-blowing shock for Fang Xing!

　　Fortunately, that old bastard Wanluo didn’t actually make things difficult for him and was instead rather excited for having come across him. According to what Fang Xing knew, these groups of old monsters had long ago realized Fang Xing was a great “sprout” and were specifically seeking him out based on his physical appearance. This was why when the old bastard Wanluo saw Fang Xing behind the mask, he was able to identify him. As for why this group of people wanted to seek him out, Fang Xing had been too frustrated at the time to ask for any details.

　　Fang Xing had heard the old bastard Wanluo mention a few things. All the young elites within Chufung and the seven surrounding kingdoms had been invited to the Snowy Mountain. The elders would also be extending the duration of the trial, and anyone who was able to pass through the trial grounds would be eligible to join. According to him, this was a grand opportunity and chance at fortune for all the younger generation of cultivators, where those who were able to join the Snowy Mountain would be able to acquire resources and techniques beyond their imagination, spirit pellets and elixirs that were worth more than their life’s savings, and the careful teachings and guidance of a Golden Core Stage cultivator. These were things a person might not have access to even after reincarnating ten times; no matter who it was, these things alone made it the grand opportunity of a lifetime.

　　The four old men Fang Xing had seen within the black hall, plus old man Hu Qin, were the only five Golden Core Stage cultivators currently within all of Chufung. Among them, the youngest was already over six hundred years old, and they’d all once been extremely famous and well-known throughout the land. Most of them—including this wretched old man named Wanluo—were hidden masters who hadn’t shown themselves for many hundreds of years.

　　Everything had been organized and schemed up by the Melodic Ice Palace. As for why all the clans did their best to send their young elites to the Snowy Mountain, it wasn’t just because of old man Hu Qin’s fame, but because they’d heard some news from each of their grand elders and elders about the appearance of some of the hidden masters. They could tell there was going to be some kind of important change, so they sent their young elites over.

　　Fang Xing casually sat down on a nearby staircase after a few random sweeps of the floor, dozing off while holding his chin. ‘That group of old bastards, what the hell are they playing at? Are they really so bored out of their wits that they’re giving away all sorts of good stuff for free?’ When he first found out he’d gained access to this supposed grand opportunity and had also been given a chance to be nurtured by the old bastard Wanluo, he hadn’t just accepted things at face value. No, he’d immediately realized something was wrong—something was very, very wrong.

　　This group of old monsters weren’t alone and reclusive with an excess of resources and nowhere better to use it. Aside from the old bastard Wanluo—who had no living blood relatives—every other Golden Core Stage cultivator had large numbers of sect disciples and family members.

　　The old man Hu Qin, for example, was the grand elder of the Melodic Ice Palace. There were at least three or four thousand disciples within his sect, so why hadn’t he left this fortune for his own disciples?

　　That yellow-robed, stern-faced elder was named Chu Taishang. He had an ancestral status within the Chufung royal family. His children and grandchildren controlled Chufung even now; why did he not leave all of this good stuff for the royal court?

　　And that man with the white brows and beard who seemed rather even-tempered was the grand elder of the Ephemeral Butterfly Sect. He’d quietly come to the Snowy Mountain to become one of the five Golden Cores….

　　Why would such people give away such a great opportunity and fortune to others?

　　As for this old bastard Wanluo, Fang Xing had secretly asked the Peng King whether he’d heard of this person before. In Wanluo’s youth, he had indeed been known as one of the best of his generation with an extremely widespread name. He’d even created the “Wanluo Sect”, but it was completely destroyed after a group of women fought their way inside. It was also around this same time that this old bastard disappeared, with a few rumors saying he’d died.

　　These people had almost all disappeared from the world of cultivation. For them to show up together at a time like this, what were they actually playing at?

　　Fang Xing couldn’t figure it out. To him, there was no such thing as a free lunch; even if all of this was being offered by a group of seemingly sanctimonious Golden Cores, there was no way they’d suddenly become so kind-hearted for no particular reason….

　　Especially when this old bastard Wanluo looked nothing like a good person at all!

　　“Kid, have you reached a decision?” the voice of Wanluo rose up and echoed from the depths of the hall.

　　Fang Xing sighed. He grabbed the broom and walked inside.

　　When the old bastard Wanluo told him about the grand opportunity within Snowy Mountain, Fang Xing had been suspicious and hadn’t accepted it immediately. This old bastard Wanluo then said he wouldn’t force the issue and gave him a chance to think about it; Fang Xing was handed a broom and told to sweep the floors in the hall, and to only put down the broomstick once he’d thought it through and would like to have a chat. It wasn’t until Fang Xing was leaving to do so that he was told he could just keep on sweeping forever if he was going to refuse.

　　Fang Xing could only roll his eyes at this. Wasn’t this the same as forcing him into submission?

　　Fang Xing threw the broom to the side and stood stiffly in front of Wanluo, who was lying on a rattan chair. “Is there truly going to be an endless number of technique manuals I’m allowed to read and an unlimited amount of resources I can use?”

　　The old bastard Wanluo fiddled with a piece of jade in his hand and smirked. “That is naturally so. Why would I lie to a little kid like you?”

　　Fang Xing scratched his ears with suspicions before suddenly asking, “Do you have something you want us to do?” He really didn’t want to play any games with an old fox who’d lived for seven or eight hundred years, so he decided to be direct.

　　Wanluo was a little surprised by this and looked to Fang Xing with a faint smile. Fang Xing courageously returned the gaze, giving off the impression he wouldn’t falter until he received an answer.

　　Wanluo became quiet for a moment before answering in a serious tone, “Indeed. We do have something for all of you to do for us. And it is an extremely dangerous thing as well, so dangerous that with your current cultivation levels, there’ll just be complete annihilation. Thus we are giving you all an opportunity like this in order to increase your battle prowess in a short period of time, so there would be a higher chance of your overall survival….”

　　“What is it?” Fang Xing hastily asked.

　　“I cannot tell you just yet!”

　　Fang Xing just rolled his eyes. “Is it very dangerous?”

　　Wanluo paused for a moment. “Extremely. But with it also comes a grand fortune and opportunity. There is no need for you to worry that I’ll cause you harm. In fact, the precious pupil of that old man Hu Qin, Chu Taishang’s grandchild, and Zhang Daoyi’s beloved student will all enter, as well as all the elites within Snowy Mountain. By then, it will be up to the heavens to decide whether someone lives, dies, or becomes wealthy because of it. To come out alive or not would be all up to your own ability!”

　　Fang Xing was a little surprised by this and seemingly began to think on it.

　　Wanluo showed a faint smile. “Kid, I’ve told you everything you wanted to know. This opportunity, do you dare accept it?”

　　“If I say I do not dare, would you let me leave?”

　　“Nope!”

　　“Then why the hell did you ask?”

　　“Because asking would make me sound more humane!” Wanluo laughed.

　　Fang Xing let out a long sigh. “Fine, I’ll get to the point. All things considered, if I accepted to do this thing for you, I’ll be given this opportunity, right? If I have any problems, would I be able to ask you to help me out?”

　　Wanluo laughed. “What sort of problems would you have? Tell me and I’ll sort it out for you without breaking a sweat!”

　　Overjoyed, Fang Xing began to circulate his Foundation power, causing strands of Demonic Qi to be released that were inexplicable and strange. “Manuals and pellets can be left for later. Help me resolve this problem first!” Fang Xing demanded, as though haggling for a fair trade.

　　In truth, Fang Xing had never wanted to refuse this so-called opportunity. With his personality, even if the old bastard Wanluo hadn’t actively sought him out, he’d still come knocking himself. Only an idiot would refuse an opportunity! As for the dangers, was there ever such a thing as good fortune without risk? At least in Fang Xing’s mind, it was only normal for something like this to be dangerous—danger coexists with fortune. The fact this was dangerous was actually reassuring.

　　Of course, a more important reason was to find a solution to the demonic spirit inside him. Although he’d discovered the Serene Ice Jades were able to suppress the demonic spirit, it was only useful to delay the time it would take to break through the seal. It would forever be a seedling for disaster as long as it was inside his body, so why not take this chance to see if it could be completely resolved!

　　“Nn? How strange.” When Wanluo sensed the aura of the demonic spirit inside Fang Xing, his brows creased and he sat up straight. With a flick of his finger, a strand of the demonic spirit was captured in his hand and he began to slowly observe it.

　　“I’ve been cursed by someone, and it’s becoming stronger and stronger. I heard the old man Hu Qin may be able to help me resolve this.” He paused here without speaking on. His meaning was clear: he wanted Wanluo to ask Hu Qin on his behalf to help resolve this matter.

　　“Nn, the auras have the same origin. It’s tainted the foundation, and seems unresigned to the bitter end…” Wanluo softly muttered to himself, as though trying to decipher the properties of this demonic spirit. After some time, he suddenly raised his gaze to Fang Xing. “Someone told you to find the old man Hu Qin, and that’s probably because he was able to resolve the curse placed on him by the Ten Phantoms. Heh, I can tell you clearly, even asking for Hu Qin won’t be any help. The curse he had back then was completely different from yours—he can’t solve your problem!”

　　Fang Xing’s expression fell when he heard this. He hadn’t expected this demonic spirit to be so difficult to deal with.

　　However, after fiddling with the demonic spirit and giving it some thought, that old bastard Wanluo softly said, “Although, perhaps I can give it a try….”