“Humph, what’s so great about that?”

　　The liveliness of the Duanzhen Valley’s resting area sharply contrasted the groups from the other valleys. One of the Shuwen Valley disciples looked at Fang Xing with disdain before noticing that some of the disciples from his own branch had been eyeing them with envy. The disciple coldly laughed and said, “We’ll go and hunt a few beasts to get a roast started, too. Especially after working hard all day, there’s nothing wrong with a bit of relaxation now!” Hearing this, a few disciples jumped up in excitement, with some moving to hunt beasts in the underbrush, some searching for firewood, and others starting another bonfire. They all became much more lively as well.

　　Someone walked towards Fang Xing with a smile. “Little Shixiong Fang, I really can’t resist this anymore. Might I be able to have a taste as well?” When Fang Xing looked up, he saw Qin Xing’er and a dark-faced man. The latter was a familiar face as well—he was the person who had been present with Qin Xing’er and Meng Xuanzhao at the black bamboo forest.

　　Within the Qing-Yun Sect, one’s position was equivalent to their strength. Qin Xing’er had referred to Fang Xing as her shidi when they’d first met, but it had only become natural for her to start politely referring to him as her shixiong instead after she had witnessed the power he showed against Murong Ying. However, Fang Xing was just too young; learning from everyone else, she added “little” as well.

　　“Haha, if you come, you’re welcome to try it. I just roasted this tiger p*nis, would you like some?” Fang Xing loudly laughed and happily invited them over to sit before passing a black, rod-shaped item speared on a tree branch.

　　Qin Xing’er’s face quickened darkened. “No thanks, I’ll have a piece of that bear paw!” she answered stiffly.

　　“Such a pity!” Fang Xing muttered to himself before cutting a piece from the bear paw, which Qin Xing’er accepted with a smile before pulling the dark-faced man to sit. The entire atmosphere was cheerful as the dark-faced man sat down, and he introduced himself shortly thereafter. His name was Liu Heihu, and one of his favorite pastimes was actually drinking wine. Liu Heihu asked Fang Xing if he could have a taste of the spirit wine in the latter’s gourd, and after being refused, he took out an entire pot of his own wine to share with everyone else.

　　“Little Shixiong Fang, it’s been some while since we met at the black bamboo forest. Here’s my cheers to you!” Liu Heihu was very polite as he toasted Fang Xing. Like Qin Xing’er, he was also of the mind that befriending Fang Xing was a much wiser choice than making him into an enemy.

　　Fang Xing loudly laughed and toasted with his wine gourd as the two of them drank. It was characteristic of a bandit to eat meat with large bites and drink wine with large gulps, and both Liu Heihu and Qin Xing’er were rather pleasant company.

　　As the group drank and chatted, the job of roasting the meats naturally landed on Wu Xiangtong’s shoulders. A few more bonfires were lit in the resting areas of the other branches, and their disciples also huddled together in small groups, turning it into a rather lively scene. There were still a few others who were too proud to join these gatherings, and these people would sit still in their own spot with closed eyes as they meditated to recover.

　　Just as things heated up, Fang Xing suddenly creased his brows and sniffed.

　　“Did something happen?” Qin Xing’er had been in the middle of a conversation with him before noticing Fang Xing’s strange actions.

　　Fang Xing’s brows tightened even further. “There’s the scent of blood.”

　　Liu Heihu laughed it off. “There’s so many people chopping up beasts and washing their organs. Why wouldn’t there be the scent of blood?” It appeared that quite a number of people had already returned with their hunted beasts to wash and portion out at the lakeside; the surroundings were already littered with a scattered mess.

　　Yet Fang Xing looked into the distance and shook his head. When he focused his gaze at the forest, he took a deep breath and activated [Mystic Eye], concentrating Qi into his pupils to improve his eyesight. His expression then immediately changed as he saw something in the forest.

　　Fang Xing jumped up all of a sudden and loudly warned, “Everyone, be careful. Trouble is coming….” He pushed a single palm forward at the same time, and a thirty-foot-tall barrier of pale blue circled around all of the Duanzhen Valley disciples, Qin Xing’er, and Liu Heihu.

　　The remaining disciples from the sect merely looked on in confusion at what was happening. Some even aimlessly glanced around to reaffirm the thought that nothing strange was about to happen. “What sort of madness has this boy contracted again?”

　　“No, there’s danger!” Suddenly, even Xu Linyun—who had been meditating by herself earlier—changed her expression. A Flying Sword instantly flew out of the storage ring on her left hand’s index finger, turning into a flicker of light as it moved around the Danxia Valley disciples to protect them. At nearly the same moment, countless numbers of black dots shot towards them from the dark depths of the forest.

　　Pah pah pah pah….

　　It was like a heavy rainstorm that covered the heaven and earth.

　　“Sh*t, it’s some sort of beast. Be careful, everyone….” The disciples that were quick to act immediately summoned their own methods of protection in order to fend off these strange insects.

　　The disciples that had reacted the quickest were none other than the leaders from each branch. As soon as Shuwen Valley’s Pi Junzi saw Xu Linyun activate her Flying Sword, he had let out a howl before summoning a large number of talisman papers from his waist sack. Almost immediately, the talismans all shone in a bright light and connected into a solid cage-shaped barrier to protect him and the entirety of his branch.

　　As for Shanhe Valley’s Feng Qingwei, she had exclaimed, “All Shanhe Valley disciples, listen up and activate the formation!”

　　All of their reactions had been extremely prompt, yet there were still seven or eight that were still hit by those black dots. As soon as one of those dots landed on someone, it seemed to open up into a fingernail-sized insect, revealing its sharp fangs before diving in and feasting on the flesh of the unlucky human.

　　The disciples that were hit did not even have the chance to activate their barriers before these insects vanished into their body. The disciples grew crazed with something alive drilling around within their bodies, and large pockets appeared against their skin as the insects crawled just beneath the surface. Then at the last, the victims became quiet and still—as dead as dead could be.

　　Only Fang Xing and Xu Linyun had managed to save all of the disciples from their branches. For Fang Xing, this was because he had activated his barrier far in advance to block off all of the insects. As for Xu Linyun, it was owed to the swiftness of her Flying Sword. The weapon danced as fluidly as a calligraphy brush, cutting apart all of the insects that drew close to them and leaving a thick layer of bisected insect corpses around her.

　　“Beasts are coming. Prepare!” None of these Qing-Yun inner court disciples were completely lacking in experience, and it did not take long for them to realize what was about to happen. Everyone wielded their spirit weapons and tools to protect themselves.

　　The rain of insects might have been strange, but the insects themselves weren’t high-tier beasts. They were no longer dangerous once people had become on guard.

　　“How could there be beast attacks?”

　　“Damn, it must be because the brat started roasting meat near the lake. He lured in the beasts….” During the defensive preparations, someone had panicked and immediately pinned the blame on Fang Xing.

　　“Thank you, Little Shixiong Fang!” Both Qin Xing’er and Liu Heihu had summoned their spirit tools for defense, but there were still traces of lingering fear on their faces. They had been the closest to the forest, and if it weren’t for Fang Xing’s barrier, their outcome might not have been so fortunate.

　　Fang Xing coldly laughed. “You’re thanking me a bit too early. There’s plenty more to—” Before he had even finished his sentence, loud howls suddenly erupted from the forest. The powerful waves of howls were from a large number of various beast packs, and they all rolled forward like a tidal wave to surround them. Those who were more timid had already been scared to the point that their faces were drained of color and their bodies shivered. Even before the disciples were able to react, all sorts of noises could be heard from the forest—it was a tide of beasts.

　　“Sh*t, we’re surrounded by beasts….”

　　“Motherf*cker, why are there so many of them? When did they learn to cooperate to attack us?”

　　All of the surviving disciples huddled around towards the center. They were not afraid of a few beasts, but when there was so many of them, it was beyond terrifying. Surrounding them was a dark pack of various beasts that numbered at least in the several hundreds.

　　“Shanhe disciples, turn the defensive formation into the Nine Suns Spirit Convergence Array!” Shanhe Valley’s Feng Qingwei commanded, immediately coming to the most suitable decision.

　　With this many beasts, a simple defensive formation wouldn’t be enough for more than one assault. If it was turned into a spirit convergence array, it would draw in more concentrated Qi from the surrounding area to help the Qing-Yun disciples recover more quickly and fight an extended battle.

　　“Shuwen disciples, immediately summon Guardian Talismans and apply them to our brothers and sisters!” As the talismans were applied, a bright gold shimmer could be seen around all of the disciples. Even the [Closed Aegis] from some of the disciples seemed to have been strengthened.

　　“Danxia disciples, use Prosperous Twin Trees to stimulate Recovery Pellets and heal those who have been wounded!” Xu Linyun’s voice was also raised. Each of the Danxia Valley disciples drew out a round, black pellet of various sizes, all of them as pure as a black pearl. Vitality visibly drew upwards in waves, expanding atop these “pearls” before growing into a form of Qi that could even be seen by the naked eye. If someone were to be wounded, their wounds would recover at a much faster rate as long as they were within this area of energy.

　　The Qing-Yun Sect’s four valleys each specialized in something that would increase the overall battle power of their ally when facing off against the same enemy.

　　Seeing that all of the other lead disciples had shouted out their commands, Fang Xing decided he should say something as well. Thus, at the top of his lungs, “All you bastards from Duanzhen Valley, listen up! Try to hide behind someone! You only have one life, so be careful not to lose it….”

　　Even with the battle just seconds away, everyone still turned to look at Fang Xing with unified contempt. His words had simply been too outrageous. Even those from Duanzhen Valley felt a sense of despair and nothing but embarrassment thanks to their lead disciple.