This was the darkest day in Qing-Yun Sect history.

　　Elder Bai and Elder Yu who were currently in seclusion had been taken away to a place nobody knew by the Meat-Wine Monk. The sect’s number one core disciple—Xiao Jianming—had been smashed into human mince by the Duanzhen Valley Head Disciple Fang Xing during a tournament match. To make matters worse, once Xiao Jianming was dead, Fang Xing then betrayed the sect by robbing the Danxia, Shanhe, and Shuwen valleys before fleeing.

　　Perhaps if that was the end of it, it would be fine, but Fang Xing also used Exploding Flame Talismans to destroy the Danxia and Shanhe valleys after robbing them. The fire was so strong that it spread into the mountain range, almost burning the Qing-Yun Sect to ashes within half a day and filling the atmosphere with black smoke. It was a miserable sight.

　　It was hard to believe that all of this had been caused by a disciple in only seventh-tier Spirit Stage. Despite the astonishment all the Qing-Yun disciples felt, a sense of admiration towards the boy began to form in their hearts.

　　“Did he really betray the sect and leave?”

　　“Use your brain. He smashed Shixiong Jianming into minced meat; why would he dare remain here?”

　　” Aiii , I can’t believe that Shixiong Xiao Jianming—such a talented genius—would lose against that little devil….”

　　Countless rumors floated through the sect.

　　—

　　Linyun Valley, the seclusion location of Xu Linyun.

　　Xu Linyun hadn’t taken a single step outside her valley ever since she’d been ordered into seclusion by Elder Qin’nyao, but a female disciple recounted everything that had happened at the Thousand Cliff. Xu Linyun’s expression was filled with shock; in her mind, she still remembered a little beggar who brought his Mahn slave along while seeking tutelage at the Qing-Yun Sect. Back then, who would have imagined both would be gone in less than five years! After a long while, Xu Linyun finally stood up and lightly bowed towards the direction Fang Xing had fled while offering prayers for his safety.

　　“All disciples, report to me….” Just as Xu Linyun was murmuring her prayers, a loud and angry voice resonated throughout all the entire Qing-Yun Sect followed shortly after by the booming sound of the Thunder Waking Drum. Xu Linyun’s expression changed, as she recognized this voice belonged to her esteemed shifu, Qin’nyao.

　　Just an hour earlier, an enraged Xiao Shanhe had returned and entered the Ancestral Hall together with Elder Qin’nyao. Without questioning the immorality of the act, he seized the Soul Lantern Fang Xing had left behind, placed the minced remains of Xiao Jianming onto a red sandalwood board, and then created a formation around it while muttering under his breath.

　　With three sputters of his own blood, Xiao Jianming began to perform the most malevolent spell he knew using Fang Xing’s Soul Lantern as the focus for the curse. It didn’t take long before nine smog-like shapes formed into the air above amidst the faint cries of ghosts and howls of wolves above.

　　“I, Xiao Shanhe, offer my nephew, Jianming, as a sacrifice and am willing to pay thirty years of my life. Please accept, Nine Ancient Demons….” Xiao Shanhe’s voice was stern, and he did not hesitate to perform a curse he would normally not dare to touch. In order to activate the curse, he had even spat out a total of three mouthfuls of blood, with each mouthful equivalent to ten years of his lifespan.

　　A Spirit Stage cultivator would be expected to live approximately one hundred years, while Foundation Stage cultivators would have three hundred. Xiao Shanhe’s actual age was already at two hundred and thirty, an age that was considered quite advanced with less than seventy years to go. Now, in order to curse Fang Xing, he was willing to shave away thirty years from the seventy he had left.

　　” Aooooo ….”

　　The ghostly cries were accompanied by gusts of chilling wind. Nine strands of black smoke circled around Xiao Shanhe before finally dropping to the sandalwood board. The smashed up pieces of meat on the board were Xiao Jianming’s corpse, and all of it was to serve as a sacrifice. The black smoke soon began to rise again, but only bones were left behind in their absence.

　　Xiao Shanhe released a loud howl as the curse completed. The nine strands of smoke transformed into nine terrifying faces, all of them holding some resemblance to Xiao Jianming. Their mouths opened wide as though screaming in pain before they rushed out of the main hall and fled into the sky.

　　At this moment, Fang Xing’s Soul Lantern suddenly went out, as though the True Spirit within had been extinguished.

　　“Haaaah…. Hurry… hurry, someone go and follow the demons…. Must… capture that brat….” Xiao Shanhe seemed to have aged a hundred years in an instant, and the already-greyed hair now had some strands as white as snow. Elder Qin’nyao had been waiting outside the hall and immediately ordered to sound the Thunder Waking Drum so she could send the Qing-Yun disciples out searching.

　　At the same time, at the back mountains of Qing-Yun Sect’s main peak, Chen Xuanhua stood with his hands folded against his back while gazing at the sky. Behind him, Tie Rukuang asked in a low voice, “Sect Master, I hope that you are… I hope you would be able to help save hi—”

　　“He is a great seedling. Within the two hundred or so years I’ve spent cultivating, such a great seedling is a rare sight. Except… aiii , I can’t protect him. No matter how fond I am of his talents, the child burned the sect and robbed the Danxia, Shanhe, and Shuwen valleys. According to sect rules….”

　　Chen Xuanhua didn’t need to finish his sentence; Tie Rukuang knew all too well.

　　The calamity that little bastard had caused this time was too big. Even if killing Xiao Jianming wasn’t counted, robbing three valleys, bombing two of those same valleys, and setting fire to the sect alone would have been enough for the Qing-Yun Sect to kill the boy a good ten times over. Sensibly, the Qing-Yun Sect could no longer help him. Strictly speaking, sect rules dictated he should be recorded as a traitor to the entire sect and for Duty Talismans of Retribution to be given out in response.

　　However, Tie Rukuang had realized Xiao Shanhe was going to use Fang Xing’s Soul Lantern for something, and he had no other choice but to seek out the sect master. He’d noticed that his shimei—Qin’nyao—had already joined together with Xiao Shanhe, and the pair were both determined to have Fang Xing dead. By himself, he wouldn’t be able to stop the two, and the only person who could right now was the sect master—Chen Xuanhua.

　　Upon hearing the sect master’s words, Tie Rukuang felt somewhat depressed.‘That boy still underestimates the Qing-Yun Sect!’ he lamented to himself. Although the sect was a small one, it was still a place with Golden Core Stage masters; they naturally wouldn’t be lacking in sly methods….

　　—

　　“Hahaha, we really got this much? Doesn’t that mean we’re rich?” After Fang Xing and the golden crow fled some thousand miles away and saw no one was chasing after them, they felt a sense of relief. Fang Xing couldn’t even wait for the golden crow to tell him about all the profit they’d made, and was soon left astonished. Not even he thought the elders within such a seemingly small Qing-Yun Sect would all be so rich; it was like a super fat sheep just waiting for the butcher’s knife!

　　There were just too many items! Even the golden crow could only recognize a small portion of it all, but even that small portion contained a pretty handsome number of treasures. The exact numbers couldn’t be estimated, but it could be compared; before, Fang Xing could have been considered a wealthy landlord in a countryside town, where even twenty to thirty taels of silver was a huge treasure, yet now he was rich enough to be seen as a moneybags in a big city.

　　“This time went really well! Since your Uncle Gold had such a huge contribution, we’ll distribute it sixty-forty; sixty me, forty you,” The golden crow began his negotiations with pride.

　　Fang Xing rolled his eyes. “Without me grabbing all of their attention, how would you have succeeded? This time, how about I don’t try to rip you off, and you don’t try to rip me off. We’ll go fifty-fifty, fair and square.”

　　“Alright, it’s a deal!” The golden crow was overjoyed. Fang Xing had always taken the larger portion in the previous splits, but now the boy was willing to go half and half. This alone made the crow feel like he’d made quite a profit.

　　After deciding on their portions, the pair decided to find a place to split their findings. Just as they were about to do so, however, Fang Xing suddenly felt a shiver cross over his heart. He turned and looked in the direction of the Qing-Yun Sect as he sensed something ominous, as he felt as though there was something dangerous quickly approaching him he couldn’t see.

　　Fang Xing stood up and held tightly onto his Saber of Azure Dragon. “Something is wrong. Goldy, let’s go down, first!”

　　“Nn? What’s wrong?” The golden crow looked around with curiosity.

　　Before the crow could say anything further, Fang Xing suddenly tensed and shouted out, “What the f*ck is that?” The golden crow flinched at this and immediately turned his head around, but there was still nothing behind him.

　　The crow also felt his back lighten when he looked back, and he soon realized Fang Xing had actually fallen off after seemingly going unconscious. Terribly shocked, the golden crow immediately dropped down, grabbed ahold of the boy’s arm with his claws, and circled a few times before finally settling down at some flat land atop a peak.

　　The next time the crow looked at Fang Xing, a sudden chill traveled down his spine. At this moment, Fang Xing’s face was covered in black smoke, as though some strange aura had coiled itself around the boy.

　　“What happened? Is this poison?” The golden crow was frustrated and tried to figure out what was going on, but he still couldn’t find out the exact cause of the problem. ‘Something’s definitely not right. It’s probably best I take the boy somewhere else, first; this place isn’t safe!’ the golden crow thought to himself after deciding this place was still too close to the Qing-Yun Sect. Just as he extended his claws and they touched Fang Xing, however, he let out a startled groan and pulled away.

　　“Why is his body so hot?” The golden crow lowered his head to look at his claws and found that these unbreakable claws of his were already letting off a slightly crispy smell. At the same time, there seemed to be the hint of flames burning just under Fang Xing’s skin, to the point that even his clothes had started to burn.

　　‘What’s going on? This kid isn’t going to die just like that, right? Should I take all these treasures and just make a run for it?’ The golden crow was in a sudden panic and couldn’t help but to have some thoughts as to that. Truthfully speaking, the haul this time around was much too large, and the crow did have some desire to have all of it for himself. It didn’t seem like he could cure the phenomenon that had fallen over Fang Xing nor run away with him, but this place was too dangerous to stay in because of how close it was to the sect. With the situation as it was, the crow just couldn’t help but to think about leaving Fang Xing behind for his own sake.

　　Yet, after a short while of uncertainty, the crow decided not to do so. “Compared to all this junk, this boy is the real treasure! If I want to do that big job, I’ll still have to rely on him…” he murmured to himself.