Xu Linyun impassively opened her eyes. “You’re two days late!”

　　When he heard her words, Xiao Jianming showed a bitter smile. “It’s been four years and you’re still as cold as ice. It wasn’t my intention to be two days late, but I met a Meat-Wine Monk on my way back who happened to be giving a sermon at the Wind-Moon Temple, and that Hou Guimen guy from Ephemeral Butterfly insisted I join him. It took me an entire two days before I was able to lose him and rush over to meet up with everyone!” His head gently shook as he spoke, as though to say these events couldn’t be helped, although he also looked rather content with the opportunity he’d been given.

　　As he’d expected, most of the Qing-Yun disciples showed signs of envy and admiration upon hearing this, especially those who were well-read and had heard of the title “Meat-Wine Monk”. He was one of the most accomplished monks within Buddhism, and it was said that his level of cultivation allowed him to reach the heavens. Although everyone here studied the path of Taoism, anyone who had the chance to personally listen in on the monk’s sermon would still gain a large benefit towards their own studies in cultivation. Furthermore, the person named Hou Guimen from the Ephemeral Butterfly sect was also one of the talented geniuses to make a name for himself within the Chufung Kingdom at such a young age. It was only natural that only people like Shixiong Xiao could befriend such a lofty figure.

　　Xu Linyun, on the other hand, didn’t want to hear Xiao Jianming’s excuses. “I’ve lost a total of fifteen disciples in these two days you haven’t arrived!” she coldly responded.

　　Xiao Jianming was stunned, a look of surprise on his face. “How did this happen? There shouldn’t be such powerful beasts within Mount Desolation?”

　　Xu Linyun no longer wished to speak to him; she let out a soft sigh and shut her eyes.

　　Plenty of people next to Xiao Jianming hurriedly began to tell their shixiong what had happened after their arrival to Mount Desolation. At first, his eyebrows were only slightly tensed together as he asked a question or two from time to time, but when they spoke on about how Fang Xing had aided in slaying one of the Fiery-Scaled Serpents, his eyes seemed to brighten as he smiled. “I have also heard good things about a shidi named Fang Xing. Where is he now?”

　　“Little Shixiong Fang, he… in order to save us, he…. He has probably already fallen…” a few revealed with sorrow.

　　Surprised, Xiao Jianming quickly asked, “What exactly happened?”

　　Someone immediately began to narrate what had happened within the valley, and the more they spoke, the tighter Xiao Jianming’s eyebrows clenched together. He looked towards the direction of the valley and asked, “The valley you spoke of is thirty miles southeast from here?”

　　“Yes, that’s correct. The mist covering the valley had also nurtured a large amount of Illusory Soulgrass!”

　　Xiao Jianming drew in a large breath in disbelief before standing up in an instant. “You guys wait for me here, I’ll be back in a moment.” Then, with a loud whistle, he dashed forward in that direction. Before he’d passed a hundred yards, the elephant-sized steel eagle came swooping across, hurriedly picking up Xiao Jianming and disappearing with him into the clouds. It all happened so quickly that the Qing-Yun disciples didn’t even realize what had occurred, much less know why he was in such a rush.

　　One person’s eyes lit up, his voice trembling as he spoke, “I wonder if Shixiong Xiao Jianming is in a hurry to save Little Shixiong Fang?” The speaker was none other than Liu Heihu.

　　“It’s been so long already. I’m afraid that… Fang Xing….”

　　There were also those who brought up concern for Xiao Jianming as well. “Shixiong Xiao Jianming may be a genius, but he can’t possibly defeat a Foundation Stage beast, can he?”

　　Everyone made their guesses, but no one knew the real reason why Xiao Jianming had acted in such a manner.

　　—

　　In the meantime, Fang Xing followed the tinge of purple mist to a hidden cave behind the valley. Located within the barren hills and stone rubbles was actually a clear flatland one hundred square yards across that was covered by a thick smog. Within the smog was a faint hint of the purple mist that was so thin, that even a gentle breeze could easily cause it to dissipate. If Fang Xing hadn’t been determined that something mysterious definitely existed in this area and he hadn’t inspected it carefully, the mist would have easily been missed.

　　“Damn your uncle, you still want to lie to me?” After a few moments of observation, Fang Xing could now confirm that this was no ordinary valley. The faint purple mist inside the thick smog was something that would only appear where an extremely rare type of spirit herb was growing—there most definitely had to be a spirit herb of some kind within this thick smog.

　　As Fang Xing cursed, he pulled out another handful of the crow’s golden feathers, sending the crow into another round of pained cries.

　　“It doesn’t matter even if you’ve found this place! I’ve been here for half a month already and still couldn’t figure out the formation protecting it. You’ll only waste your efforts trying!”

　　“No matter what, is it true that there’s some kind of treasure?” Fang Xing asked.

　　Since they’d already found the place, the crow gave in and answered, “Since you’re already here, there’s no need for me to hide it anymore. This valley contains the most concentrated amount of Demonic Qi in all of Mount Desolation, and this cave has the most concentrated amount of Demonic Qi within the entire valley. It’s very likely that there’s a rare spirit herb… but there’s no use if you can’t even get in.”

　　Fang Xing tilted his head as he inspected the smog-covered area. “How can you be so sure that I can’t get in?”

　　The golden crow laughed with disdain. “If it was that easy, I would have been inside ages ago! There’s a formation beneath the cave, a three-turn formation at the very least, an extremely complicated protective formation with over four thousand transformations placed by someone in the Foundation Stage. And I—being the most talented formation genius within my clan—have still yet to break it even though I’ve spent over half a month trying. There is no way you’d be able to do it, so it’s best that you give up now!”

　　“This formation doesn’t really look like it’s powerful at all….” Fang Xing spent a good while concentrating on it while squatting outside the smog. He was extremely bewildered at first, but he soon became more and more surprised as he looked on. Finally, excitement overtook his small face.

　　The golden crow let out a loud, derisive laugh. “Hah hah hah, then why don’t you go in and test it out yourself.”

　　Fang Xing looked at him and showed a sudden smirk. “I think you’ll be more suitable!”

　　The crow turned his head aside in ridicule. “Do you think I’m stupid? I won’t go in even if I—waaaah—!” Before he’d even had the chance to finish, the golden crow felt a pressure on his rear right before he was sent flying inside the formation. The crow was left with a good fright, and he let out a loud cry before cursing at Fang Xing, “You little bastard, are you trying to kill me? Hurry and get me out of here!”

　　Fang Xing’s kick had nearly given the crow a heart attack! It was extremely dangerous for someone to enter a formation before properly appraising and calculating its ins and outs, and it would be considered lucky if doing so only trapped them inside. If someone were to accidentally enter the “death passage” and have the force of the entire formation crash down upon them, the only outcome would be as minced meat. It was for this reason that the crow was so fearful, and he waved his wings while trying to get out.

　　As soon as the crow had entered, he felt as though he had lost all sense of direction, and it felt as though he had entered a separate world surrounded by nothing but the thick smog. It was also at this precise moment that he felt the rope around his neck tighten and tug him flying backwards, bringing him outside of the smog again a short moment later. As it turned out, Fang Xing had pulled the golden crow outside of the formation with the [Immortal’s Snare].

　　“You son of a bi*ch, just tell me now if you want to take my life. Don’t go spooking birds like that….” The golden crow had its feet and wings flat on the ground while still looking terrified.

　　“Haha, but you see, aren’t you perfectly fine?” Fang Xing laughed.

　　The golden crow released a long exhale before yelling out, “You tell me I’m fine? I’ve lost all of my birdy guts! And that… you were able to pull me out because I was lucky! If by chance I went into the death passage, it would have been game over the moment I was inside….”

　　However, it seemed as though Fang Xing had confirmed something, and he looked on with lighthearted joy. “I only threw you inside because I’d made sure that wasn’t the direction of the death passage!” he said, full of smiles.

　　“You’re kidding me, right? What are you to see through the forma—”

　　“You don’t believe me? We should test it out a few more times, though!” Fang Xing interrupted. With another kick, the golden crow rolled back inside with a loud cry and subsequent curses.

　　Fang Xing tugged the crow back once again and—when he saw that the crow’s wings and legs were all attached without a single wound—he was now certain. Before the crow was able to continue yelling out profanity, Fang Xing aimed and kicked him at a different direction. With one end of the [Immortal’s Snare] in his hand and the other attached to the golden crow’s neck, it was as if Fang Xing was repeatedly kicking and pulling a golden yo-yo into the formation as he used the golden crow as a probe to test his theories.

　　In truth, when Fang Xing had been squatting outside the formation, he had been using the [Book of Revelation] to see whether the formation itself was real or not, as well as its level of danger. Not only had it helped him appraise the formation’s strength, it had also shown him the directions of all eight of its passages. Put simply, he had seen through the entire basis of this formation in that moment.

　　Although it may have only been the basis of the formation, it was enough to allow Fang Xing to determine how dangerous the eight passages were. With a further step of careful calculation, it was easy to understand the formation in its entirety and its rules, allowing him to enter and exit it as he pleased.